Parselmatch
by whoneedsahero12
Summary: Hermione and Draco Malfoy,are sent back in time by mistake with parselmagic. Now they must learn to fit into the 40's and stay under the radar of the one and only Tom Riddle. Yet both of them find themselves being pulled into the mystery of the Knights. But Ron and Harry are trying desperately to bring her back - and the effects are lethal. ON TEMPORARY HIATUS.
1. Prolouge

**Love is…**

_**Prologue: A Battlefield**_

Hey readers! Sorry this took so long to post! I've been busy with the end of fall sports and homecoming. I know many of you probably want to chase me with a pitch fork for not yet completing my Degrassi _Taking a Shot at It _story that I started in April. I know, I do too. However, I am pretty much done with all 12 pages of it, but it still needs a LOT of editing. So, in the mean time, I'm starting my new HP fanfic. Hurray! Honestly, the combination of Hermione and Tom sends me whirling! My parents listen to me explaining plot ideas all the time, and tell me I am crazy because Hermione is a brilliant character, and Tom is evil and incapable of love. But that's the point! Anyway, read and enjoy! **(I will take helpful criticism) And let me know if I am doing a decent job of keeping the characters "in character". Plot suggestions are welcome. I have this all mapped out in my head, but I am willingly to add in or change things if they are good enough. ****Thanks!**

_Synopsis: After the "Final Battle" Hermione and Ron are finishing their 7th year at Hogwarts and are "going steady." But their personalities still clash and burn into each other, like water and fire. During a rage of jealousy and a heated fight, Ron casts a spell in parsel-tongue that he thinks will make Hermione silent. Too bad Ron has horrible pronunciation and casts the wrong spell, sending her spiraling back through time. _

The rain hitting the window fell harder as the thunder crashed and the lightening boomed. But the loud sounds of nature couldn't hold a candle to the sound of Ron, Harry, and Hermione fighting. Their yells could be heard throughout the castle, even though they were in the kitchens.

They hadn't always been this way, this violent and unhappy. When the Final Battle ended, Ron and Hermione had decided to start dating. Sure, they had had their little quarrels and tiffs, but they got through it, together.

On the first day of classes, Professor McGonagall pulled Hermione out of class and into her headmistress's office.

"_Miss Granger, do you know why I pulled you in here today?"_

"No Headmistress. I suspect it has something to do with my duties as Head Girl, but I'm not sure."

"_My dear, I must ask you the largest favor possible. And I will understand if you do not accept…"_

"What is it Professor?"

"_The faculty of Hogwarts has taken in a boy that used to come here. Now that his family is in a pitiful state, viewed as traitors to both sides-"_

"Professor, if this is what I think it is…"

"_Miss Granger, we're hoping you would tutor Mr. Draco Malfoy."_ Hermione's face grew pale and her eyes lost their shine. Draco Malfoy had been the worst part of her years at Hogwarts. He had been so horrible to her- had called her a _mudblood_, _scum_; all kinds of dirty names. How could she possibly turn around and forget all the things he had, and help him finish his education?

But Hermione understood that everyone was deserving of an education, even if they were vile and black of heart. If she were to deny helping him, wouldn't she be bringing herself down to his level? Hermione's natural benevolence and need to save others kicked in. She had made her decision.

"I'll do it." McGonagall nodded her head, and a sad smile graced her lips. _This girl is going to risk it all to make sure a boy who hated her and tortured her can finish his schooling… _McGonagall explained that Draco wished to be taught in private; he couldn't bare the thought of everyone in school hating him. Draco thrived of his followers-without them, he was a scared little boy who was constantly manipulated by his parents. Hermione agreed to his terms, she didn't like the idea of having to tell Ron or Harry- they would have a horcrux if they found out. The tutoring would take place at night in the kitchens.

The first night, Hermione was surprised to find a quiet and polite Draco waiting for her in the kitchens. He obviously still did not like Hermione, but knew she was the only one who would every show him this kindness. Turns out, Draco was an excellent student, who excelled in not only potions, but in ancient runes and defense against the dark arts as well.

As their sessions continued, Hermione began to understand the strange and twisted way Draco's mind worked. It seemed he could only repeat what his parents said, and could never form his own opinion. It was as if he had been brainwashed. With Hermione's help, he began to act less snobbish and crude, especially when it came to blood statuses.

One night in early February, after a grueling session of herbology, Draco did something unexpected-Draco Malfoy hugged Hermione. Hermione stiffened; his arms held her tight and offered no warmth. But what he said next was even stranger than the hug

"_Thank you Hermione."_ He barely audibly murmured into her hair. Even more exotic, he continued, "_You helped me when no one else would, not even the teachers. And I was so horrible to you during school. You should have said no Hermione, but you didn't. So, thank you for your kindness. And for helping me understand I need to become my own person." _Hermione's eyes grew wide with shock.

"Draco, anyone would have done it. It is my duty as Head Girl to help those in need. And, Hogwarts always give help to those who need it." Draco pulled back from the hug and stared Hermione down.

"_Hermione, you don't get it… I think you are the closest I've ever gotten to having a real friend." _Just then, Harry and Ron shed the invisibility cloak in a full rage. _"What the…"_ But Draco was cut off by Harry as he punched him in the face.

"Don't you **ever** touch her again you arse!" Ron screamed at Draco. Hermione stood up in protest.

"Ron! Harry! Stop it!" Harry looked up from Draco's bloody face, but Ron simply took this opportunity to start bashing Draco even more.

"Ronald Weasely, stop punching him this instant!" Ron stopped and looked up at Hermione in disbelief.

"Thanks Hermione," Draco lisped as blood clogged his nose.

"Shut up!" Ron and Harry shouted simultaneously.

"What has gotten into your head Hermione?"

"Why are you helping _ferret boy_?"

"Why were you _hugging_ ferret boy?"

"What? Am I not good enough for you now Hermione?"

"Would you rather spend your nights helping this **freak** than spending time with us?"

"You know, the people who matter the most in your life?"

"The people who love you and care for you-"

"The friends who took you in from the brink of anti-social ness when we should have left you to drown in your own tears."

"The ones who-"

"STOP IT!" Hermione screamed. They looked at her with narrowed eyes and knit brows. "Where has you sense of compassion gone? Everyone deserves a second chance, even those who have hurt you before."

"Has Luna's stupidity rubbed off on you or something?"

"I would not be saying such things if I were you Ronald Weasely. Harry, you gave Sirius a second chance at the Shrieking Shack in the third year." Harry winced at the mention of his beloved godfather's name. Hermione continued, "Ron, you gave Ginny a second chance after what happened in the Chamber of Secrets in her first year-"

"Yes, but she was a little girl who had been possessed by the dark lord!" Ron bellowed. "Draco's just an evil git who-"

"He is **not** an evil git!" Hermione gasped at her own words. Had she really just defended Draco Malfoy? "Harry, you and Draco aren't all that different."

"Don't you **dare** compare us Hermione! We are nothing alike!"

"But you are Harry! You both were unloved children who were manipulated and used as pawns in the war! The only difference between the two of you is that you refuse to succumb to the dark side. Draco, on the other hand, has only ever known the dark side." Harry closed his eyes. He knew Hermione spoke the truth, but did not want to hear it.

"You might as well have just said that he, Voldemort, and I could have been three peas in a pod." He sternly said.

"If the three of you had been raised together, then yes, you would have." Harry looked up. He couldn't believe that Hermione would say that to him.

"Listen 'Mione, Draco doesn't have a soul- he doesn't care about anyone else but himself."

"I could say the exact same thing about you Ron. All you care about is the stupid Chudley Cannons and food. And once and awhile, in that microscopic brain of yours, you get jealous of Harry and your brothers and all that they have accomplished. And when you're having a really intelligent day, you give me a glance or two."

"Number one, the Chudley Cannons are not stupid."

"Yes they are," chorused Hermione, Draco, and Harry. Harry glowered down at Draco.

"You stay out of this, rat."

"Number two, maybe if you didn't nag me all the time, we could-"

"Could what Ron? Get married and have a dozen gingers? Spend the rest of our lives arguing? No Ron- I think not."

"See? That's the problem with you Hermione. You never let me get a word in. You think I'm not good enough for you-"

"I have never said that Ron!"

"But it was implied 'Mione. Lav never made me feel bad like you do. She always made me feel special. She-"

"Yes Ron, we all know that you like a dead girl better than me, okay?"

"Mate, you still have a thing for that chick?"

"She wasn't just _some chick_, she was the love of my life."

"Ron, the only thing you two ever did was snog the living day lights out of each other. That doesn't count as love."

"And what you and Ginny have does? Harry, you have no idea how twisted your relationship with her is. You spend your days fighting, and your nights lusting. And let's be honest here-Ginny has all the power in the relationship."

"Well at least I appreciate what I have with Ginny; you just trample over whatever it is you and Hermione had!"

"I always knew you had a thing for her. You just weren't satisfied having Ginny and every other girl in school, but you needed my girl to love you too."

"I was never your girl Ron!" Ron and Harry turned around to face Hermione with slacked jaws. "We didn't even start to like each other until 6th year Ron! And how dare you speak of me like I'm an object. I am a living person, with feelings and emotions! Just because you are an emotion-less rock does not give you permission to treat everyone else like so. How I could have ever-" Ron couldn't take it anymore. All he wanted her to do now was shut up.

"_Silence upon those whose tongues and blood run un-pure_!" he tried to yell at her in parseltongue magic, but the words were still foreign on his tongue. Instead, they came out as: "_Time turns for those whose destinies have been tampered by the Fates_!"

"NO!" Harry cried. Hermione looked frightened. She had no knowledge of parseltongue magic. Draco had jumped from his seat and tackled her, just as the spell hit her square in the chest. Both vanished in a silver haze.

Harry ran and punched Ron in the nose. Ron stumbled back and ended up knocking into a shelf of dishes. Glass and china showered the floor. Harry picked Ron up by his shirt collar and pulled him to his feet.

"Where did you send them?"

"What are you talking about Harry? I was just trying to get her to be quiet, but then…"

"God, you're so stupid Ron." Ron's face grew pale.

"What did I just do?"

"You sent them spiraling back into time 'mate. Way to use your head." Harry said coldly as he dropped Ron and let him fall back down to the floor. "What were you thinking Ron? You know that you can't speak parseltongue, let alone use parseltongue magic."

"I don't know Harry… I was thinking about the diary and when you stabbed in down in the chamber. How she was still frozen, so she couldn't talk."

"Oh no…"

"Where do you think I sent them Harry?"

"By the sounds of it, you sent them back to the '40s to pay dear old Tom Riddle a visit."


	2. Chapter 1: A Reality Check

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 1: A Reality Check**_

Hey readers! The next installment is here! Hurray! Hope you all enjoy this, and please let me know how my versions of the characters are. Getting this right is extremely important to me. Also, would you like Draco to be a possible love interest, villain, or best-friend character? I have three possible versions of this mapped out, with every possibility for Draco in mind. I'm personally thinking of using him as a bit of comedic relief, and maybe as a catalyst (for what, Im not saying ). Anyway, Tom will be popping up in this chapter (hold your breath people!) Might not get to update for a while though, I've got science fair next week, and midterms in three weeks. However, I will try my best to keep updating quickly. The reviews were lovely. I read them every morning at school and they honestly make my day. Thanks for reading!

The lovely reviewers:

hateme101

assi

Oddly cute

forbiddenluv

_Synopsis: Hermione and Draco land in the kitchens, aggravated the head elf, Crosser, who is trying to prepare the Christmas feast. Crosser takes them to Headmaster Dippet and Professor Dumbledore. Wait, Dippet? What year is this again? _

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"What did I just do?"

"You sent them spiraling back into time 'mate. Way to use your head." Harry said coldly as he dropped Ron and let him fall back down to the floor. "What were you thinking Ron? You know that you can't speak parseltongue, let alone use parseltongue magic."

"I don't know Harry… I was thinking about the diary and when you stabbed in down in the chamber. How she was still frozen, so she couldn't talk."

"Oh no…"

"Where do you think I sent them Harry?"

"By the sounds of it, you sent them back to the '40s to pay dear old Tom Riddle a visit."

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Hermione and Draco fell to the floor with and slammed into the wooden table they had just seen moments ago. However, instead of books and papers flying, a huge ham with pineapple and mashed potatoes soaring over their heads and smashing into the wall.

"NOOO! All my hard work-ruined! YOU!" cried a small figure from the doorway into the inner kitchens. The livid house elf ran over to them and sat down on Draco's chest and kept trying to pound his hands into Draco. It did not have much affect though, the elf's hand were the size of large walnut.

"Get off me you git!" Draco cried.

"YOU!" the house elf cried again. "You did this to me! All my hard work has been ruined because of you and your stupid apparition! Now, I have to 5 more minutes to conjure cook the food. Do you understand how LONG that is? No, you don't because you don't care! Arrgghh!" The little elf stood up and began to jump up and down on Draco.

"We didn't mean to destroy your preparation plans. We're quite sorry. Let us help you make new food to make it up to you. But please, get off my friend so he can stop squishing me."

"OH! It's a miss! It's a miss! And a pretty one at that! I only saw the mister here!" The elf blushed deeply and motioned to Draco by slapping his head.

"Oiy there! Get off me you!" And with that, the little elf jumped off Draco and snapped his fingers, causing Draco flew up into the air. Hermione barely had enough time to scurry away from her spot on the floor before Draco fell to the floor once again. "Ouch! Knock it off you bloody elf!" Draco cried as he rubbed the back of his sore head.

"Oops! My bad!" laughed the little elf. "Crosser didn't mean to hurt the mister. Only make sure the miss don't get crushed by you." He laughed again.

"Did he just call me fat?"

"Draco, shush. Is your name Crosser, sir?"

"Me? A sir?" Crosser faced turned a bright pink. "Crosser's just a house elf miss. The head kitchen elf, actually, but none the less, a house elf."

"Well, Crosser, it's very nice to meet you." Hermione shook hands with him, making him turn even pinker. "Crosser, just out of curiosity, what time is it?"

"Is but 7 o'clock on Christmas morning miss."

"Christmas morning? Hermione, do you know what this means?" Draco frantically whispered in her ear.

"Yes Draco, I do. Now hush, I'm thinking… Crosser, would you mind telling us who the headmaster here is at Hogwarts?"

"Dippet's the headmaster, miss. And a wretched, icky one at that. Reminds Crosser of a melted vulture, he does. But, don't tell anyone I said that; if people know, Crosser will lose his job and have to go back to working as a toilet brush. No more toilet brushes! Crosser always got water in his little ears, and it made his head hurt." The elf began shivering at the thought of his old job.

"Don't worry, Crosser, we won't tell a soul. How long has Dippet been headmaster Crosser?"

Draco pulled her back and whispered, "What are you doing? Why don't you just ask what year it is?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "Do you really want to make it obvious we are time travelers? I asked him how long Dippet has been headmaster because it lists each headmaster's serving time in _Hogwarts: a History_. If I know how long Dippet has served, then I can calculate what year it is, and see who would be here to help us get home." Draco solemnly nodded his head and stepped back, but he still kept his hand on her shoulder.

"He's served for nine miserable years." Hermione closed her eyes tightly, trying to remember what her favorite book had said.

"He served from 1934 to 1956. If he has already served for nine years, it's… 1943" Hermione murmured to herself. "It's 1943." She repeated, a little louder this time so that Draco could hear. Her eyes grew wide and she looked like she could faint. Draco, if possible, grew even paler. They both knew what this meant. In the spring of 1943, Tom Riddle had awaken the basilisk and set it upon the muggle-borns at Hogwarts. That summer, Tom killed his father and paternal grandparents, and morphed his Uncle Morfin's memory, causing him to believe that he killed his sister's former in-laws.

"Oh, how rude of Crosser! Crosser forgot to ask the miss and mister!"

"I'm Hermione, and this is my…" she hesitated for a moment, "friend, Draco."

"Crosser is pleased to meet you. Now come, we must have you meet icky Dippet and Professor Dumbledore. They will decide what to do with you."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like use to help you cook Crosser?"

"Oh, it will be alright Miss Hermione. That's we house elves have magic for! Now come, we must have you meet them."

Crosser had Hermione and Draco follow up the stairs and all the way to the Great Hall. Hermione marveled at how different the castle seemed. Everything was in place, yet it seemed to have a glitter polish, much like the first time she had ever come to Hogwarts eight years ago. Draco, on the other hand, kept his head down.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, only one student sat at the table on the farthest side of the room. His head was bent, and he appeared to be reading a rather old book. He only glanced up for a moment to gaze at them before returning to his book, but that's all they needed. Draco and Hermione looked at each other with somber eyes: Tom Riddle.

Draco and Hermione walked together up the steps to the staff table and stood before Headmaster Armando Dippet.

"Oh, good morning Crosser, what do we have here?"

"Students, master Dippet." Crosser stated. He looked at Armando and rolled his eyes.

"Students, eh? What are their names?" Hermione already disliked this man. How dare he refer to her as if she weren't there, or wasn't competent enough to speak for herself.

"I'm Hermione, and this is Draco." Dippet looked at her with startled eyes. It was if he was amazed she could speak, as if he thought she was a marble statue. Crosser tapped her leg and waved good-bye before snapping his fingers and apparating back to the kitchens.

"Well, Hermione, what brings you and your friend to Hogwarts?" asked a rather familiar voice. Hermione turned her head and saw that Dumbledore was to the right of Dippet, with eyes that still twinkled like the night sky, and much more colorful hair. Bright, copper hair, to be exact. Hermione couldn't help but smile when she saw him. Draco, however, couldn't even give his old headmaster eye contact. Guilt, perhaps?

"We used to attend Beauxbatons. But, with Grindelwald over there in France right now, our parents thought it would be unsafe."

"Your parents, eh? What are your parents last names? And why is it that you do not speak French, or have a French accent?" inquired Dippet.

"My parents are Cecil and Robert d'Arc. They're purebloods, of course. My parents are French, but I was mostly raised in England, so I am fluent in both." Hermione's eyes grew wide at Draco's words. Did he really speak French, or was he just a good liar?

"And you Miss…?"

"My parents were David and Julia Andersen. My father was a pureblood Dane, my mother was an English muggle. My parents ran a bookshop in muggle France, so I can speak a little French, but my primary language is English."

"Were? Would you care to explain the past tense references Miss Andersen?"

"They died during one of the muggle bombings sir." Hermione quietly whispered. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and her vision became slightly blurred. Draco placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to console her.

"Oh, I'm quite sorry dear. I had no idea." Draco rolled his eyes, and glanced back at Tom. The little bugger had been eavesdropping on them the whole time! Tom casually looked around the room before once again diving into his musty book.

"It's fine sir, you had no way of knowing."

"Well, Headmaster Dippet, they seem like exceptional children who have suffered greatly. And Hogwarts always offers help to those who need it." Dumbledore suggested. 

"Why, yes it does! And I 100% agree. Welcome to Hogwarts Mr. d'Arc and Miss Andersen."

"We should have them sorted today, headmaster. We can announce them later when the students come back. By the way, what year are you both in?"

"We're 6th years, sir." they said in unison.

"What a splendid idea, Professor Dumbledore! Why don't I get the hat, and when they're done being sorted, we'll have Tom show them around! That way, they'll be acquainted with the school before the next semester starts. And, they'll have a wonderful new friend!"

"That sounds just fine, sir. Thank you for your kindness." Draco lied through a forced smile.

"Tom? Tom, my boy! Why don't you introduce yourself to the new transfer students?" suggested Dippet. Hermione gave Draco a worried look. Armando walked out of the room to find the hat.

"It would be my pleasure, Headmaster." Tom stood up and walked over to them with long strides. Hermione looked at him with curiosity. She had heard Harry describe him and she had seen photos, but just couldn't believe that such a horrible man could be so beautiful. He wasn't perfection, but he was certainly close. His fair skin glistened. His dark ebony hair fell in soft waves that look like they had been painted by Michelangelo or Rafael. If you looked closely, you could see a small amount of stubble on his chin, and a scattering of light freckles across his nose. His hands were long and elegant, like a piano player's. What confused and intrigued Hermione the most was his eyes. They weren't just one color. They were a melting pot of colors. The base was a coffee brown, but they were speckled with purple, red, green, yellow, blue, grey, and black. They were captivating.

Tom reached them and stuck out his hand to shake Draco's. "Hello, I'm Tom Riddle. I'm one of the head boys for the Slytherin."

"Draco d'Arc. Having no authority or house." Tom Riddle chuckled and turned to Hermione. They shook hands, and she introduced herself.

"Hermione Andersen."

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet you Miss Andersen." His eyes glittered with false integrity.

"Like wise, Mr. Riddle." Draco nervously glanced at Hermione. Was she crazy?

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine. And please, call me Tom."

"Well, _Tom_, then you should call me Hermione."

"If the lady insists, then it shall be." Hermione looked down and noted that Tom's hand was still clasping hers.

"Hermione! Draco! Sorting time!" Armando cried as he waltzed into the room.

"Well, we'll have to continue this conversation during breakfast after you and Draco get sorted." Tom winked at her and slowly released he hand.

_Cliff hanger! Sorting and tour shall come in the next chapter. Whatcha think of Tom so far? Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 2: A lot of Drama

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 2: A lot of Drama**_

Hey readers! We're at Hogwarts with Tom Riddle! Hurray! Hope you all enjoy! Thanks for reading!

The lovely reviewers:

andiescandieee

Miridea

_Synopsis: Draco gets sorted into Slytherin, while Hermione gets sent into quite the unexpected house! Slughorn enters the scene and whisks them away to Diagon Alley to buy their things. Tom is wondering about the new girl, and Draco is thinking about kicking it up a notch Lots of laughter, a few awkward pauses, and maybe a kiss under the mistletoe! _

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"Hermione Andersen."

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet you Miss Andersen." His eyes glittered with false integrity.

"Like wise, Mr. Riddle." Draco nervously glanced at Hermione. Was she crazy?

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine. And please, call me Tom."

"Well, _Tom_, then you should call me Hermione."

"If the lady insists, then it shall be." Hermione looked down and noted that Tom's hand was still clasping hers.

"Hermione! Draco! Sorting time!" Armando cried as he waltzed into the room.

"Well, we'll have to continue this conversation during breakfast after you and Draco get sorted." Tom winked at her and slowly released he hand.

ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Are you children ready to be sorted?" Dippet asked. Both nodded their heads. "Who would like to go first?" Draco turned to Hermione and raised an eyebrow. She simply nodded her head at him, indicating that Draco should go first. Draco grinned at stepped up to Dippet's table with an air of confidence that he hadn't shown since his fifth year. He sat on the stool, and Dippet put the hat on him.

The hat roared to life, "A Mr. d'Arc, you say? Hmm…. interesting." Then, the hat began to talk to Draco privately. _"Mr. Malfoy, I see you've already been sorted. And that you certainly aren't from this time. You, like your friend, have had your life tampered with by the Fates. Therefore, I will follow the Fates' guidance. And don't feel guilty about Dumbledore… he knew what was coming. It wasn't your fault."_ Draco's face grew pale and his eyes lost their aristocratic glitter. They seemed clouded and lost.

"Let it be… **Slytherin**!" Everyone clapped, and Draco let out a huge sigh as he climbed off the chair. Dippet clapped Draco on the back and Tom shuck his hand again.

Tom walked up behind Hermione and whispered in her ear, "I hope you get in Slytherin as well, _Hermione_." She turned back to him and gave him a small smile, and he winked at her. She turned back to Draco, who waggled his eyebrows at her. She gave him a genuine smile this time, and stepped up to the hat. She gingerly sat down, and felt a flash of homesickness as the hat was placed on her head. She had only been away from Harry and Ron for only a few hours, yet she already missed them terribly.

"Miss Andersen? Heh-heh-heh-heh, this is going to be quite the sorting, I can already tell." Everyone's eyes widened with shock. The hat began to pry into her mind. _"You've already been in Gryffindor, dear, there's no need to do that again."_ Hermione had to fight herself to keep her jaw from dropping to the floor in shock. _"And by the way you keep glaring at Mr. Riddle, I'm guessing Slytherin isn't an option either._ _You are rather intelligent… but that's not all there is to you. Judging upon these memories of yours, you get offended when people only think of your brain, and not your heart. You are my most complex child yet. You can be resourceful, brave, witty, and so on. But your biggest qualities are patience, loyalty, fairness, compassion, and hard work…" _This time, Hermione couldn't keep her mouth closed. Was the hat really saying she belonged in…?

"**Hufflepuff**!"

Everyone politely smiled, but Draco look flabbergasted. Hermione was a shoe-in for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, but _Hufflepuff_? Yuck! Hermione hopped off the stool to join Draco.

"Splendid! Hufflepuff was my old house!" Hermione wanted to curl up in a corner and disappear. Why did she have to share a house with crazy Dippet? He continued, "Now, do you children have your things, so we may send them to your appropriate rooms?"

"No, Headmaster, we came in a rush and forgot to pack them. Is it possible we could go to Diagon Alley later today to buy our supplies and any other necessities?" Draco asked with puppy-dog eyes.

"Headmaster that would require adult supervision…" A female professor on the end warned.

"I'll go with them!" voiced a walrus of a man as he walked in from the loo with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"Good to know Sluggie hasn't changed at all." Draco chuckled into her ear, and Hermione stifled her laughter. Slughorn waddled to them and shook each of their hands with his meaty paws.

"Horace Slughorn, head of the Slytherin house and potions professor. So glad to have so fine students join us! I hope you will join my little club, which is only for the best and brightest here at Hogwarts. You two would fit in just fine." He finally stopped shaking there hands and turned to Dippet. "Besides, I need to grab some new pistols and mortars for the dungeons, not to mention supplies for my New Years party."

"Thank you Horace, that's so generous of you."

"Headmaster Dippet, would it be possible for me to go as well? I'd be under the careful supervision of Professor Slughorn, and it would also allow me to get to know Draco and Hermione even better. They will probably need someone to help them find their way around as well."

Dippet was about to nod his head when Dumbledore pulled him back and whispered, "Perhaps we should just let Horace go. I'm not sure Tom can handle being on his own."

Dippet simply laughed. "Nonsense, Albus! The boy will be perfectly fine. And I think this will be a perfectly adequate way for Tom to get to know Draco and Hermione." He said a little more quietly to Dumbledore, "It will be good for Tom to get out; he always seems so lonesome during the holidays. By the looks of it, he really seems to fancy the Andersen girl."

Dumbledore sighed and murmured, "That's just what I'm afraid of."

"Yes Tom, of course you may accompany them. Horace, just make sure you are all back by 5 on the dot. Tom, why don't you give them the tour tonight after you come back?" Slughorn nodded his head and sat down at the teachers' table to eat his breakfast. The younger Slytherin nodded and quietly thanked Dippet.

Tom led Draco and Hermione over to the Slytherin table to join him for breakfast. Draco eyed the waffles and licked his lips. While taking night classes at Hogwarts, he had only been able to eat the kitchen scraps. He grabbed 3 of them and covered them in a gallon of maple syrup and butter and began to scarf them down. Hermione let out a laugh at Draco's antics. She sat down next to her hungry friend and grabbed a slice of toast and a jar of grape jam. After she had slathered her toast with jam, she took a small bite and let out a happy sigh. She hadn't had jam and toast since the day she had erased her parents' memories and sent them to Australia. Hogwarts had stopped serving jam during her 5th year, while Umbridge declared it to be too muggle-like.

"Are you a fan of grape jam?" Hermione nearly jumped out of her seat she was so startled. She had almost completely forgotten that Tom was even there. She nodded her head, and returned to her toast. Tom raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

_Did she just ignore me? What an infuriatingly confusing girl._ He could read everyone else like a book. Hermione though… she was a challenge. She was obviously intelligent. She was sensitive and kind. Hermione was a caring and loyal friend. Not your average beauty. She was a different kind of pretty; Tom couldn't put his thumb on it. Her hair wasn't just brown, it was a calico mixture that reminded Tom of the wheat field in autumn, with little bits of gold, red, blonde, and brown. Her eyes were the color of milk chocolate, and sparkled with a kind of happiness Tom had never possessed. Her hands were small, and her fingers were long and dainty… he caught himself noticing all these silly little things and decided to forget them. _She's just another girl who is going to fawn over you and you'll have to beat her away with a stick and empty promises…right?_

Tom tried again, this time clearing his throat. "I myself prefer honey, but to each their own." Hermione once again nodded her head and went back to her thoughts. Hermione internally sighed. Crosser was certainly right about an icky, wretched, melted vulture. He had just mistaken who the vulture really was. It seemed as if Riddle would not be satisfied until he got her to have a conversation with him. She decided to indulge him today, because it was the last time she would probably have to talk to him. Hufflepuffs tended to have classes with Ravenclaws, and the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables were separated by the Ravenclaws.

"How long have you been attending Hogwarts?" she politely asked.

"'Since my first year." Hermione wanted to pull her hair out; was he trying to torture her? He obviously wanted her to ask more questions so he could brag about himself; the prick!

"What are you reading?" Hermione pointed to the mildewed book that sat next to Tom's glass of orange juice on the table.

"What, this old thing?" He gestured to it, but Hermione would have preferred if he would have repeatedly hit himself in the head with it. "It's just some light reading. If you must know, it's Tales of Beadle and Bard. I know it's a collection of silly children's tales, but I never had the opportunity to read it as a child, so I quite enjoy it."

"No, that's not silly at all. I just read it myself this past year."

"But weren't your parents bookshop keepers?"

"Muggle bookshop. We lived as Muggles until I got my letter from Beauxbatons. I didn't even know about magic until then." Tom slowly nodded his head, as if he was taking it all in at once.

"Why?"

"My great-great-grandfather was Hans Christen Andersen. My father grew up under a lot of pressure to show off this air of perfection to the rest of the pureblood world-to carry on the legacy of his great-grandfather. At Durmstrang, he was treated like royalty, but he hated all the attention; he was a shy guy. So, when he met my mother, he took the opportunity to escape from the world that had ostracized him, and he flourished in his little muggle cocoon." Hermione was shocked at how easily this all came out of her mouth. She had taken what she knew about Andersen, mixed it with her father's quiet, shy personality, and gave him Harry's life.

"He sounds like quite a man. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to meet him." Tom loved how effortlessly the words came out of his mouth. He truly was a silver-tongue. It also made Tom want to vomit. He couldn't believe he had suggested he wanted to meet her blood traitor. Not only that, but it sounded like he had the world at his feet, but just couldn't see it.

Tom venomously hated people like that- the ones who had it all but didn't appreciate it all. He had had to work for every single thing in his life, without anyone's help. And it had made him a strong person. But sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder how differently his life would have been if his squib-mother had lived, or his…father? No, a father was someone that looks after you. Tom Riddle Senior was not his father; he was simply a biological relative. He wondered what could have been if the biological relative had taken Tom in, or had even cared.

Tom mentally shook himself. _Stop thinking these ridiculous thoughts, Lord Voldemort doesn't doubt himself. And when he takes over the world, those selfish bastards will be the first to go._ Tom was dragged back to reality by the sound of Hermione's shrill voice.

"Draco, really! You must stop shoveling waffles down your throat. You're going to burst!" Hermione lightly whacked his head with the back of her hand.

"Yes, mother." Draco mumbled through a full mouth.

"Ugh, you've got syrup all over you." She conjured a napkin and cleaned his mouth vigorously. "Honestly, you're like a child with a bag of sweets in front of him!"

Draco chuckled, "You make that sound like it's a bad thing 'Mione!"

"It is! You know how I was raised! Sweets were a bad thing growing up!"

"That's right; I forgot how strict your folks were."

"I wasn't allowed anywhere near sugar until I started going to Beauxbatons." Hermione and Draco laughed while Tom watched them in amusement. It was obvious to him that d'Arc fancied the Andersen girl; probably everyone but the two of them. Tom lightly chuckled, drawing their attention.

"Are you two ready to go to Diagon Alley, or would you like to continue your love fest?" Hermione blushed while Draco simply laughed along with Tom.

"Let's get going. I don't want to make Hermione any more aggravated than she already is." The three stood up from the table and walked together as they trailed Slughorn to the Headmaster's office.

Slughorn was babbling on about the effects of Scratcher puffs and Oogle eyes on the flying ability of Quidditch players. Hermione stood behind Slughorn, with Draco to her right, and Tom to her left.

"Don't mind Professor Slughorn, he's just, well…"

"Slughorn?"

"Yes, I guess that's a good way of putting it." Hermione and Tom shared a light laugh. Draco saw them from the corner of his eye and instinctively grabbed Hermione's hand to whisper in her ear.

"I can't wait to get out of these clothes. How about you?"

"I'm dying for a hot bath and a soft sweater." Tom quietly watched from the sidelines. He could never feel like that-the way Hermione made Draco. Girls didn't make his heart pump faster, nor did they send him into frenzy. He knew that some people had to wait years and years to feel like that, but Tom knew deep down inside that he would never feel that way. His heart was too twisted too be able to love. He might have had a shot if he had been shown compassion as a child, but this was not a time to mourn his nonexistent childhood. This was a time to plot and conquer. D'Arc might be a good knight. He was a Slytherin and a pureblood. But Tom would have to wait to see Draco's true colors; he knew that he wouldn't act out in front of his little girlfriend.

Speaking of, the Andersen girl might be a good addition to his group. He needed a logical plotter, a voice of reason to level out with his brash hooligans. Andersen was too much of a goody-goody though, he would have to… show her the right path, the dark path.

Draco and Hermione continued their banter as they neared the stairs.

"Tick-Tock" Slughorn sang as the winding staircase appeared.

"After you." Draco motioned for Hermione to lead the way before following after her and cutting off Tom. Tom raised an eyebrow as two ingenious ideas popped into his brilliant head. 1. They come as a dual set. Plus sides: teamwork; they will stick together. Downsides: if one happens to…pass on, then the other will either keep fighting or stop all together. The risks for that were too high. Or, his brighter idea: choose the better one, kill the other. Turn them against each other and become the winner's solace. Be their only reason for hope; and use it to make them join. The only problem was: choosing the better warrior. He was a Slytherin: cunning, resourceful, sneaky. She was smart, caring, brave, and beautiful.

Tom couldn't make up his mind, so he decided to use a traditional muggle method. As Draco and Hermione stepped into the fireplace, Tom mentally sang to himself: _Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tinker by the toe, if he squeals let him go, I will choose the very best one and you are… it! _Hermione and Draco burst into flames as they were transported to Diagon Alley. Tom smiled to himself as he stepped into the fireplace. _This is going to be quite the term, I can already tell._ The powder fell to the floor as he burst into a ball of green flames that twisted and churned, looking as if he was being surrounded by slithering snakes.


	4. Chapter 3:Webs of Secrets and Lies

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 3: Interwoven Webs of Secrets and Lies **_

Hey readers! Time to visit Diagon Alley, whoopee! Some questions will arise from the ashes of conflict, and some secrets will be discovered. Heh-heh-heh-heh! My previous chapter was the cliff hanger of cliff hangers! This might top it though… Gosh, I feel like a Slytherin.Hope you all enjoy! Thanks for reading!

The lovely reviewers:

forbiddenluv

Ethy-Riddle

hateme101

wicked1398

**(And some folks I've missed, sorry!)**

assi

DamnationOfTheDead

Socrates

natalien

_Synopsis: The gang takes a trip to Diagon Alley to buy supplies. Everyone has little secrets that pop up; everyone from Slughorn to Tom. But the most surprising secret will come from Draco. Tom makes a move (but on whom), Slughorn shows his stupidity in mass amounts, and we all get to know some of the perplexing Malfoy family riddles._

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Tom raised an eyebrow as two ingenious ideas popped into his brilliant head. 1. They come as a dual set. Plus sides: teamwork; they will stick together. Downsides: if one happens to…pass on, then the other will either keep fighting or stop all together. The risks for that were too high. Or, his brighter idea: choose the better one, kill the other. Turn them against each other and become the winner's solace. Be their only reason for hope; and use it to make them join. The only problem was: choosing the better warrior. He was a Slytherin: cunning, resourceful, sneaky. She was smart, caring, brave, and beautiful.

Tom couldn't make up his mind, so he decided to use a traditional muggle method. As Draco and Hermione stepped into the fireplace, Tom mentally sang to himself: _Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tinker by the toe, if he squeals let him go, I will choose the very best one and you are… it! _ Hermione and Draco burst into flames as they were transported to Diagon Alley. Tom smiled to himself as he stepped into the fireplace. _This is going to be quite the term, I can already tell._ The powder fell to the floor as he burst into a ball of green flames that twisted and churned, looking as if he was being surrounded by slithering snakes.

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Tom arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron and entered the bustling streets with a sly grin dangling on his lips. "I love magic." He quietly mused as he found Hermione and Draco waiting for him across the street at the Apothecary. Professor Slughorn soon followed Tom out from the Leaky Cauldron, a briefcase in tow.

"Ah, welcome to Diagon Alley children! Now, I hope Tom will be able to provide a list of your school supplies. I have some…business to attend to, so I will meet you children back here at the Leaky Cauldron in a few hours. See you all in a bit. Cheerio!" And with that, Slughorn bumbled his way through the crowded streets and disappeared.

"Thank god he's gone." Draco sighed. Tom let out an eerie chuckle.

"You two catch on fast."

"He's not _terrible_, he's just…" Hermione tried to justify.

"He's so…old. And he talks soooooo much!" Draco whined.

"Unfortunately for us Draco, Slughorn is the head of our house."

"How do you stand being around that blob so much?"

"I suppose I've learned to tune him out over the years. His droning has become soothing in a sense." All three laughed at this. "Well, I suppose you'll need a copy of the list." Tom reached into his school bag, which he always carried with him, and handed Draco the original list. "I trust you'll be able to navigate your way around. I'm going to head to Flourish & Botts. If you need my help, you can find me their in one of the arm chairs."

"Thanks Tom. We appreciate your help." Draco shook Tom's hand, only to garb onto Hermione's and go running to Gringotts. Tom watched them run off together and shuttered. That much attachment to a person seemed utterly horrible to Tom. His warrior would need to learn that showing emotions and caring for a person was a weakness.

He slowly walked to Flourish & Botts, taking in every detail of Diagon Alley in deep wonder and amazement. He entered the shop and didn't even bother greeting the owner before climbing up the stairs so he could sit in the old arm chairs behind the bookshelves. He sat down and pulled out the book he had been reading earlier. He sighed at the world's stupidity as he took he opened the book. He didn't even need magic to disguise _The Wizarding World's Darkest Magic,_ which he had taken from the restricted section. He had simply taken the cover of _The Tales of Beadle & Bard_ and slipped it over the front of his book. It wasn't as if anyone would miss it-he was the only student who went into the restricted section, let alone read a book from the library other than for homework purposes. Tom made himself cozy in the chair as he turned to _Chapter 7: Horcruxes_.

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Draco and Hermione ran and talked all the way to Gringotts.

"How can you be so chummy with him?"

"Trust me, I didn't want to be so nice to Voldie, but we have to blend in here. We can't change the past; how else will we be able to get home?" Hermione stopped dead in her tracks right outside Gringotts.

"Draco, we can't go back."

"Sure we can, we just have to find the reverse of what _Gingy_ said. And may I add he is horrible at speaking parseltongue."

"Parseltongue? Was that the language he was speaking in? I never could understand any of that gibberish. How did **you** know it was parseltongue magic anyway?"

"Hermione, dearest, I'm insulted. All purebloods can at least understand parseltongue, whether they like it or not. However, you cannot speak it unless you devote years and years of time to learn it, or…."

"Or what Draco?"

"You can naturally speak it if you are a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. That's why you can't comprehend a lick of it. I can make out bits and pieces, but that's where the story ends. Probably all the incest in my family."

"Then why can Ronald speak it?"

"Hermione, he's called a "blood traitor" for a reason." Hermione raised an eyebrow, puzzled at Draco's words. He sighed, "His grandfather, Septimus, married my great aunt Cedrella Black. You can't find her on the tree though, her own sister, Walburga, burned her off."

"You're related to each other?" Hermione asked in horror.

"Did I not just mention my parseltongue abilities are in the gutter because of all the incest in the pureblood wizarding world?" Draco grumbled as he walked into Gringotts.

"To think, you're at least 1% ginger!"

"Scarhead too." Draco mumbled.

"You and Harry as well? Wow, pureblood should be changed to-" Draco cut her off.

"Yes, yes, we all know that pureblood might as well be another term for cesspool. It's funny when I joke about it, because I am a pureblood. With muggle borns though, the joke loses it poignancy." Draco walked up to the head desk while Hermione rolled her eyes and followed him. The goblin glared down at Draco with icy eyes.

"Can I _**help**_you?"

"Yes, I'd like to access my account." The goblin sneered.

"And the account would be?"

"The Malfoy family account." Draco took off his prized snake ring and handed it to the man. The silver snake slithered off the ring and opened its mouth, forming the key. Its tail curled into a beautiful and complicated style to form the handle. The goblin's eyes glittered with jealousy at the enchanted ring and the magic it possessed.

"And which Malfoy are you, sir?" The goblin's glasses fell to the edge of his nose as he peered down at the pair from his perch.

"Abraxas Malfoy." The grimy goblin nodded before pointing a stubby finger at Hermione.

"Who's that?"

"This is my fiancée, Miss Andersen. She is Danish and has not yet learned English." Hermione raised an eyebrow; why would Draco make it so that they couldn't talk to each other? Draco twirled his wand behind his wand before quietly casting a nonverbal on himself and Hermione. She walked up behind Draco and whispered in his ear.

"Abraxas, **dearest**, _what are you doing_?" The goblin looked at them utterly confused.

"What did she just say?"

"She simply asked if we could get to the vault. She's got a dress fitting in half an hour, and then we have to attend a meeting with the wedding planner." Draco calmly lied. The goblin nodded and climbed off his stool as he led them to into the hallway. They followed him through a door that led them to the caves where the carts were launched.

Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her into the cart as the goblin turned the key and the cart began to zoom down the tunnels. Hermione had to grab onto Draco's arm to keep from falling out of the zooming cart.

"Draco, why can't he understand what I'm saying?"

"Hermione, you're the brightest witch of our age- figure it out."

"Principala-Langua?"

"Clever girl."

"What about the ring?"

"It's a family heirloom. All the rings are made from the same model."

"It's certainly…unique."

"I'm thinking about having it changed to a dragon though."

"Perhaps a ferret would be more fitting for you." Hermione giggled as they came to a halting stop at the Malfoy vault.

"Here's your stop Mr. Malfoy, soon to be Ms. Malfoy. I'll wait here while you two lovebirds go in." Hermione eyed Draco and suppressed a chuckle. The goblin unlocked the vault and let them enter, hand-in-hand.

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Tom finished his chapter on Horcruxes, unsatisfied and craving more knowledge on the subject. He yearned for, no, needed, to know more about them. His thirst for immortality had begun as a young child when reading muggle fairy tales, but when presented with the possibility of achieving it, his thirst became uncontrollable. But how could he learn more? Surely, there was no other book with such vital information in Hogwarts. It had taken nearly half the school year of scouring through piles of books in the restricted section to find anything on the subject. Perhaps he could ask a teacher? Certainly not Dumbledore, the mutual hate between them was beyond measurable. Maybe Slughorn…but he would have to approach the situation carefully. Butter him up first and then go in for the kill. Come to the old codger begging for information-academic purposes, of course. Tom's hand went to his prized ring. His hands glided over the smooth stone inset in the center. The ring would make a nice horcrux… but would it be wise to make another one so soon? He had already made the diary into a Horcrux but one wasn't good enough. That's why he needed Slughorn's guidance on the matter; he needed to know just how many he had to make to ensure he could live forever.

Tom walked out of Flourish & Botts on a mission: find a box of the finest crystallized pineapple and present it to Slughorn as Christmas gift. Then, at the New Years Slug party, continue to impress the socks off the nutty professor. And finally, after the party, ask about Horcruxes. Tom grinned as he approached a street peddler. Using the allowance he received once a year from Dippet, he paid for an overpriced box of the nauseating fruit treat. He then began walking towards Gringotts to meet D'Arc and Andersen when he saw Slughorn hustling down Knockturn Alley. Tom tried to call out to him, but the professor couldn't hear him. Tom determined that D'Arc and Andersen could wait; in this situation, discovering the reason for Slughorn's sneakiness took precedence.

Tom cast a disillusionment charm on himself as he followed Slughorn deeper and deeper into the abyss of Knockturn Alley. The darkness and sheer creepiness of the place sent chills up his spine. It utterly thrilled him in a different way than Hogwarts ever did. Slughorn rushed into a shop, his arms full of poorly wrapped paper packages. Tom looked up and saw the sign: Borgin & Burkes. He watched Slughorn from the grimy window. Slughorn was one of two customers inside the shop, with one elderly man working as the clerk. Slughorn patiently waited as the other customer debated with the clerk over an item. Tom rubbed the window and cupped his hands over his eyes to see the item better. The customer was holding what seemed to be a glass container with golden and black liquid inside. The clerk slammed his fist down on the counter, and the customer matched the older man's intense and raging stare. Slughorn was trembling, and his packages were sent flying to the floor. The clerk noticed this, sighed, and nodded his head. Agreeing with the customer's price? The customer dropped the galleons on the counter, grabbed the bottle from the clerk, and walked out a happier man. Tom took this opportunity to slither in through the open door and watch the exchange.

"Good to see ya Horace."

"Yes, yes, you too Caractacus. Now, do you have the money for the goods?"

"Why wouldn't I have it?" The man named Caractacus raised a scraggly eyebrow.

"Just making sure Mr. Burke."

"I'll live up to my end of the deal if you live up to yours. Now, where are the goods Horace?"

"Right here." Slughorn ushered to the packages on the floor. Caractacus began to reach for his wand from his back pocket, but Slughorn stopped him. "No! These books are too fragile to have magic used on them."

"Ah, so that's why you were carrying them." Slughorn shuck his bulbous head and began to gingerly put each book on the counter. "Which books am I receiving today from the restricted section?"

"Lankin's _A History of Darkness_, Codgin's _Signs of the Unknown_, and Nelvano's _The Basics of Cursing Items and Their Owners_." Caractacus gave a long and deep sigh.

"Not exactly the rarities I was hoping for here Horace."

"I know, I know, but I couldn't just take the rarest books from the restricted section. I had to take books that had multiple copies so that would not go unnoticed."

"Understandable Horace. How's everyone doing at the castle anyway?"

"We're all still recovering from the attacks this past spring." The clerk placed the money on the counter for the books.

"Whatcha got in the other packages?"

"Just spare items." Caractacus glared down at the shorter slug of a man.

"That wasn't part of our deal."

"I know, I know, I just thought…" Slughorn managed to stutter.

"Thought what Slug? That you could get away with stealing more than I asked you to because you needed the galleons?"

"Times are hard, and I need more galleons Caractacus."

"And I need to keep my business alive and under the Ministry's radar. I'm putting my arse on the line here! Do you honestly believe I enjoy being the center of the _Wizarding black market_?" His fist came slamming down into the counter.

"Yyyeeesss Caractacus."

"Now, take these… goods back to Hogwarts. And next month, I expect the goods **on time**." Slughorn shuck his head vigorously, grabbed his money and the extra packages, and stumbled out the door.

If Tom had the ability to emote, tears would have run down his face. Slughorn's betrayal of Hogwarts was beyond terrifying, and it left him trembling with an emotion he supposed was fear.

"Show yourself boy, I know you're in here." The elder man warned. Tom froze in his spot near the stairway. Caractacus muttered to himself, and Tom slowly began to reappear.

"How much of that conversation did you here boy?"

Tom looked around the shop in fake interest, taking his time to answer. "All of it." The old man nodded his head and ushered for Tom to come closer. Tom hesitantly walked closer to the counter. "Mr. Burke, I can ensure you that the conversations in here will not be repeated to a living soul."

"You can say that again." He grumbled.

"I intend on obliverating myself the minute I get back to school. I don't want to ever think about the past five minutes of my life ever again." Tom looked away; distant and cold.

"There's no need for that boy. I think experiences like the one you just saw are like life lessons. Now you know that to trust people. It's an important thing to know in the business world." Tom nodded his head and began to turn away when Caractacus clamped Tom's hand. Tom for the first time looked the man straight in the eyes. Stone cold eyes that reflected back at Tom like a shattered mirror. One eye no longer worked and was a frosted steel blue gray. The other eye was a sparkling gold with black specks.

It reminded Tom of himself: His outer self was perfect with very few, invisible flaws, and on the inside was a monster who simply reflected what he saw. Nothing was real in his life; it was all one big lie.

"You remind a lot of myself when I was a boy; ambitious, Slytherin prefect, different. The world needs more men like us to help take charge. And that's why I'm going to offer you a job here." Tom raised an elegant eyebrow. "I'm getting on in my years, and I'll be needing someone to help me around here soon. When you finally graduate from Hogwarts, feel free to apply for a job. What's your name anyway?"

"Tom Riddle." The pair shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you…Tom."

**Sorry, needed to get some of the chapter out. It's already a remarkable 8 pages, my longest yet. I won't be able to update for a while: January is going to be a crazy month for me. However, I will try my best to update efficiently and to the best of my abilities. Oh! My family and I have discovered the popular TV show Dexter, who shares an uncanny resemblance to my Tom. Thanks for reading! **


	5. Chapter 4: Fire and Ice

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 4: Fire and Ice**_

Hey readers! I'm gonna change it up a bit here and do something completely new!

The lovely reviewers:

Shannon the Original

Lady Whitlock

forbiddenluv

_Synopsis: Some mischief is going on back at Hogwarts in 1998._

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"Trust me, I didn't want to be so nice to Voldie, but we have to blend in here. We can't change the past; how else will we be able to get home?" Hermione stopped dead in her tracks right outside Gringotts.

"Draco, we can't go back."

"Hermione, dearest, I'm insulted. All purebloods can at least understand parseltongue, whether they like it or not. However, you cannot speak it unless you devote years and years of time to learn it, or…."

"Or what Draco?"

"You can naturally speak it if you are a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. That's why you can't comprehend a lick of it. I can make out bits and pieces, but that's where the story ends. Probably all the incest in my family."

"Whatcha got in the other packages?"

"Just spare items." Caractacus glared down at the shorter slug of a man.

"That wasn't part of our deal."

"I know, I know, I just thought…" Slughorn managed to stutter.

"Thought what Slug? That you could get away with stealing more than I asked you to because you needed the galleons?"

"Times are hard, and I need more galleons Caractacus."

"And I need to keep my business alive and under the Ministry's radar. I'm putting my arse on the line here! Do you honestly believe I enjoy being the center of the _Wizarding black market_?" His fist came slamming down into the counter.

"Yyyeeesss Caractacus."

"There's no need for that boy. I think experiences like the one you just saw are like life lessons. Now you know not to trust people. It's an important thing to know in the business world." Tom nodded his head and began to turn away when Caractacus clamped Tom's hand. Tom for the first time looked the man straight in the eyes. Stone cold eyes that reflected back at Tom like a shattered mirror. One eye no longer worked and was a frosted steel blue gray. The other eye was a sparkling gold with black specks.

It reminded Tom of himself: His outer self was perfect with very few, invisible flaws, and on the inside was a monster who simply reflected what he saw. Nothing was real in his life; it was all one big lie.

"You remind a lot of myself when I was a boy; ambitious, Slytherin prefect, different. The world needs more men like us to help take charge. And that's why I'm going to offer you a job here." Tom raised an elegant eyebrow. "I'm getting on in my years, and I'll be needing someone to help me around here soon. When you finally graduate from Hogwarts, feel free to apply for a job. What's your name anyway?"

"Tom Riddle." The pair shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you…Tom."

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Harry helped Ron up off the floor and brushed the glass off of him. Ron tried to talk, but Harry simply shook his head with somber eyes. Harry walked out of the kitchens and made his way to the Astronomy tower. Ron tried to follow, but the staircases kept moving him to the wrong location. He watched Harry become small dot above his head before he saw him disappear.

Harry carefully made his way up the steps of the Astronomy Tower before finding his favorite spot in the little alcove. The cold wind of February ruffled Harry's hair and swirled around him. It only reminded him of how he had lost Hermione. A small tear ran down Harry's cheek. His job had been to watch out for her-to protect her. If only he'd known that he had to protect from his other best friend, Ron. Harry understood why Hermione had helped Draco-she was trying to fix the pieces of his shattered soul. She had no obligation to, but she attempted to do it anyway, because that's the kind of person Hermione was.

More tears rolled down Harry's cheeks. Why couldn't he have stopped Ron? He felt like such a dunce. He should have been the one that covered Hermione, not Draco Malfoy. Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and cleaned his smudged glasses with the hem of his shirt. He had lost his sister, his companion, his best friend. He looked up into the night sky and saw _Canis Major_ and _Canis Minor_, the big and little dog. He remembered a night in the sixth year, just like this, where he and Hermione had stargazed from this very spot. She pointed to _Canis Major_ and told Harry that Sirius was always with him; all he had to do was look up and see him in the sky. Would he now have to look up into the sky and see Hermione as _Canis Minor_? Harry was pulled from his thoughts by the sounds of five pairs of feet pounding up the stairs.

"Miss, Crosser is too old to be walking up the stairs," a little house elf huffed.

"Don't worry Crosser, it's just a few more steps, then you can explain your story and apparate back to the kitchens."

"…Yes Miss Luna." Luna popped into view, along with a raging Ginny who was dragging Ron, and the house elf Crosser.

"Hello Harry." Luna said in a sad sigh.

"Harry, how could you let Ron do that to Hermione?" yelled Ginny. Luna put a hand on Ginny's shoulder shoulder.

"Ginny, it's not Harry's fault." Ginny then burst into tears and sunk to the floor. Harry crawled over to her from his spot and threw his arms around her. Ron was sitting on the floor behind them, rocking back and forth with tear-filled eyes.

"Crosser, why don't you tell everyone about what you saw tonight?" Crosser nodded his fuzzy head and sat next to Harry. His ears hairs were so long that they tickled Ginny's cheek. And, very slowly, he told his story about the events he saw just an hour ago. When Crosser finished his story, he gave a long sigh and an icy tear fell down his cheek.

"Crosser, why are you crying?"

"Crosser was told to protect the Miss. Now he's gonna hurt Crosser. Crosser will have to use his ears as rags again." Harry and Ginny gave each other a look.

"Crosser, he told you to protect 'Mione?" Harry asked with a renewed enthusiasm. Crosser did not answer Harry's question though, and simply kept hysterically muttering to himself about how his punishment.

Luna mused to herself, "I know who will help us." She got up off the floor, helping a shaking Crosser get up and sent him back to the kitchens. She began to walk down the stairs when she suddenly stopped. "Are you going to come with me or not?" Harry glanced at a startled Ron and Ginny. They all silently got up and followed the mane of shimmering blonde hair down the stairs.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Where is the bat taking us?" Ron hissed in Harry's ear.

"How would I know? If you want to know, ask!" He hissed back at Ron. Ginny turned around from her spot beside Luna to glare with red, puffy eyes at her brother.

"If you had just kept your temper in line-" but Ron cut her off before she could yell at him further.

"Luna, where are you taking us?"

Luna continuing skipping for a bit before answering, "You'll see. Patience is a virtue Ronald."

Ron rolled his eyes. "What is **that** supposed to mean?"

Soon, they approached the spiraling staircase of the North tower. Luna led the way up the stone steps. Harry looked out the stained glass window that featured the suffering peasant. With the snow started to heavily fall, it looked like the peasant was being swallowed whole by a white monster. The wet snow slide down the window, making it look like long strains of tears were falling from the poor peasant's eyes. Harry yearned move than ever for a witty comment from Hermione on how symbolic it was that the peasant cried for them as the walked up the stairs to the Divination classroom.

Harry was drawn from his musings by a nudge from Ron. "Blimey, now we have to deal with two bats!" Harry rolled his eyes and trudged up the stairs. Luna opened the circular wooden hatch door above their heads. A wood ladder slide down, and an eerie blue glow loomed above their heads. They all climbed up the ladder into the darkened Divination classroom. Trelawney sat at her table with five crystal orbs at its center. The only light in the room was coming from Trelawney's wand.

"Professor Trelawney?" Ginny asked. Luna shushed her though.

"Just sit and watch. We will learn what we need to know when we are calm with open minds and open hearts." And with that, Luna plopped down on a soft pillow. Harry sat next to her, along with Ginny. Ron stood hesitantly behind them before joining them on the floor. Trelawney began to twitch, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her voice changed. She was in a trance.

"_The Dragon and Fire are the puppets of the fates…sent back in time for reasons unknown…in their journeys they meet Ice. Dragon and the Ice are unlikely friends and their alliance causes a stir throughout the forest. A possible relationship is terminated and Dragon realizes its mistake… Fire and Ice are complete opposites…at first they loathe each other with a fiery passion…"_

"What's she blabbering on about now?" Ron bitterly complained, earning pointed looks from his friends.

"_In the full moon of the Summer Solstice dark forces try to bring Fire back to their time…Fire will fall ill and Ice will sacrifice something it holds dear to save Fire…Dragon will stand helpless on the sidelines with pearl tears falling from its eyes…as Ice heals Fire they realize that they are not so different after all … an alliance is broken and a new one rises in its places… Fire and Ice become inseparable…"_

"Harry, you understand any of this gibberish?"

"Shut up Ron!" Harry hissed before turning back to a mystified Trelawney.

"_Dragon retreats to its cave to plot its revenge…Dragon will pull all of Ice's forgotten icicle warriors into its devious plot, as well as The Lying King… Fire's embers cool and Ice's layers melts away as the eternal pair reaches a point where they must confront their love for each other…the Dragon will fight for Fire with silver talons and burning flames that fume…the Dragon's efforts will be useless and will only send Fire running into Ice's arms…"_

Ginny quietly murmured, "It's a bit beautiful, isn't it?" Harry gave her a small smile and took her hand.

"_Dragon and Ice will begin their epic battle for Fire's heart…Dragon uses its strength; Ice uses its wits… Both will only succeed in hurting Fire…Fire will run to the comfort of the Bear in the clouds…Dragon and Ice must re-forge their alliance to save Fire from themselves as the leaves turn red…The Bear falls for Fire's wit and spunk quickly, only Bear's love is only one-sided… Dragon leaves the shaky alliance to return to Fire's side…"_

"Now there's a bear? Blimey, I'm lost." Ron shook his head.

"If you're having trouble, close your mouth and open your ears. You will understand everything once you have an open mind with ready ears and a quiet mouth."

"_Ice mourns its lost love and attempts to return to its icy origins from before Fire's arrival, but Ice can no longer stay so cold. It only reminds Ice of how much Fire wept and begged for Ice to stop the frost… As the Winter Solstice approaches, Fire yearns for Ice and finally gives in to Ice's pleads…Dragon will ignite and its eye will burn with envy…Dragon goes on a raging war path to destroy Ice…In the end, one will die, one will mourn, one will love, and one will…" _

And with that, Trelawney passed out cold.

"That's incredible. She gave a chain prophecy!" Luna hummed to herself.

"One will die, one will mourn, one will love, and one will what?" Harry asked.

"She couldn't complete it." Ginny pondered.

"Can she not see that far ahead?"

"Not far ahead Ron-more like that far back. This means that Hermione and Draco's futures are still in the making-they're not clearly defined." Luna simply stated before covered Trelawney with a blanket.

"Which means that…" Ginny cut Harry off.

"Which means that the Fates are still writing their story. We can still help add in our own edits before they send it off to the printing press of life."

"What a wonderful analogy Ginny! Perhaps you'd like to join the writing staff of the Quibbler?"

"So wait… there's a dragon, fire, ice, a bear, a lying king, and an army of icicles?"

"Oh look! Ron remembered!" Luna clapped her hands proudly.

"How does that match up with Hermione and Draco though?" Ginny asked.

"We're going to have to do some research-look at historical symbols and the school records. They'll probably be exchange students."

"That sound's like it will take forever though! Isn't there a faster way?" Ron whined.

"We can work together. Maybe ask Neville, Cho, and some other Order members to help the cause."

"Where's Hermione when you need her?" Ron gave a sigh.

"_Oh, I don't know_. Just back in time-where **you** sent her!" Ginny hissed.

"Come on Gin'. Let's go to bed. We'll start researching in the morning." Harry grabbed a fitful Ginny and carried her off like a bride. The whole time though, she glared at Ron with vicious eyes.

"Well, I'm going to try to find my slippers-the nargles took them again. 'Night Ron!"

Ron was left alone in with the sound of Trelawney's snores, the soft blue glow of the orbs, and his thoughts.

"_I'm going to make sure you come back 'Mione. I promise." _With a renewed energy, Ron climbed down the ladder and closed the door.

**Cliffy! :D These are too much fun to write. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in a few weeks. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 5: People Watching

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 5: People Watching**_

Hey readers! So sorry I haven't updated sooner. :P January was extremely hectic for me, as has February. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Please, feel free to review. Reviews are the light of my life, honestly. Not to be a needy author, but the reviews are my fuel. If y'all don't update me, then I sort of lose interest myself. Sure, I'd still write the story, but the process would take A LOT longer. Any-who, if you think its good, bad, okay, or whatever, REVIEW! Thanks!

The lovely reviewers have been (overall):

DamnationOfTheDead

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natalien

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assi

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Shannon the Original

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"_The Dragon and Fire are the puppets of the fates…sent back in time for reasons unknown…in their journeys they meet Ice. Dragon and the Ice are unlikely friends and their alliance causes a stir throughout the forest. A possible relationship is terminated and Dragon realizes its mistake… Fire and Ice are complete opposites…at first they loathe each other with a fiery passion…"_

"_In the full moon of the Summer Solstice dark forces try to bring Fire back to their time…Fire will fall ill and Ice will sacrifice something it holds dear to save Fire…Dragon will stand helpless on the sidelines with pearl tears falling from its eyes…as Ice heals Fire they realize that they are not so different after all … an alliance is broken and a new one rises in its places… Fire and Ice become inseparable…"_

"_Dragon retreats to its cave to plot its revenge…Dragon will pull all of Ice's forgotten icicle warriors into its devious plot, as well as The Lying King… Fire's embers cool and Ice's layers melts away as the eternal pair reaches a point where they must confront their love for each other…the Dragon will fight for Fire with silver talons and burning flames that fume…the Dragon's efforts will be useless and will only send Fire running into Ice's arms…"_

"_Dragon and Ice will begin their epic battle for Fire's heart…Dragon uses its strength; Ice uses its wits… Both will only succeed in hurting Fire…Fire will run to the comfort of the Bear in the clouds…Dragon and Ice must re-forge their alliance to save Fire from themselves as the leaves turn red…The Bear falls for Fire's wit and spunk quickly, only Bear's love is only one-sided… Dragon leaves the shaky alliance to return to Fire's side…"_

"_Ice mourns its lost love and attempts to return to its icy origins from before Fire's arrival, but Ice can no longer stay so cold. It only reminds Ice of how much Fire wept and begged for Ice to stop the frost… As the Winter Solstice approaches, Fire yearns for Ice and finally gives in to Ice's pleads…Dragon will ignite and its eye will burn with envy…Dragon goes on a raging war path to destroy Ice…In the end, one will die, one will mourn, one will love, and one will…" _

And with that, Trelawney passed out cold.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Tom hurried out of Borgin & Burke's with his head hung low. He quickly walked through the dark alleys of Knockturn alley and back into the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. He pushed his way through the mob of wizarding families to the outside of Gringotts. Tom looked up at the large marble sign and frowned in distain. The only time he had set foot in Gringotts was this summer after he had…taken care of the filthy Riddles.

Tom thought he could start an account for himself with the drinking money the younger Riddle had lined his pockets with. The damn goblins wouldn't let him though-he needed a guardian to sign for him. He knew not to ask Dumbledore-it was bad enough the ginger watched him like a hawk. Thank god he hadn't had asked Slughorn-he probably would have stolen the money from Tom's account. And Dippet, ugh, Tom refused to even get **started** on that one. So, Tom decided that once he took over the whole world, he would rid it of goblins…and Muggles…and pretty much anything else that angered him.

At that moment, Draco and Hermione walked out arm in arm, laughing and jabbering on about something or other. They nodded at him and continued on their way. He watched them walk away again and tilted his head slightly. Sometimes, Tom wondered what it was like to love someone. Not that he had ever wanted to try- but the concept of love perplexed him beyond belief.

His squibbish mother had been so obsessed with it that it brought about her down fall. She had been so hopelessly desperate for love that she settled for the handsome and rich, yet cold and stupid muggle. So cold and stupid that Tom Riddle Sr. left her for dead 8 months pregnant with no where to go after she confessed that she was a witch. Now that she had been denied her last hope of love, she became suicidal. During the last month of her pregnancy, she began to starve herself. The meager amount of money she had received from Mr. Burke for Slytherin's locket, 10 Galleons, had only managed to buy her a weeks worth of crumbs. Four weeks before Tom's birth, she attempted to poison herself with a muggle cleaner called Lye. On Christmas day, she cast the killing curse at a mirror in the hopes that it would reflect back on her. Despite all her attempts, she stayed alive until Tom was born before she finally got her wish-death. The doctors pronounced Merope Gaunt dead immediately after she named him that _disgusting_ name. She had given up on Tom before he was even born. And people were stupid enough to ask Tom why he didn't trust anyone.

Tom shuddered as his mind dragged him back to the reality of the snowy streets of Diagon Alley. He had followed Draco and Hermione to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Tom watched them from the window as Madame Malkin began to measure Draco. Her young daughter, still a baby, was currently being cradled in Hermione's arms. Draco caught Tom staring from outside and waved to him. Tom nodded his head back at the lanky blonde. Draco gestured dramatically for Tom to join them inside, but Madame Malkin gave Draco a glare that could only rival that of Mrs. Cole. Tom raised a cold eyebrow and shook his head. Draco frowned and remained still begrudgingly.

Meanwhile, the young daughter of Madame Malkin was thoroughly entertaining herself by yanking on the frizzy strands of Hermione's hair. Hermione didn't seem to notice though; she was too busy cooing over it. Draco watched her from his perch, enamored by her abilities with the youngster. He felt the pang of deep jealousy rising in his chest as he watched the odd pair.Typically, he wouldn't waste his time being jealous over a mere baby, but Hermione was always the exception. Draco wished that she would look at him like that-with her eyes a glow and her attention completely dedicated to him and him alone. Sure, during their tutoring sessions she would focus on him, but something would always pull her attention away-whether it was her friends, her schoolwork, or her poor excuse of a boyfriend.

Draco looked up to find Tom staring intently at him again, like a hawk scouting its prey before an attack. Surprisingly, he wasn't afraid of the boy looming outside. Instead, Draco did something rather peculiar. Draco contorted his face, crossed his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and waggled his fabric covered hand at Tom. It certainly got the future dark lord off guard. For a few seconds, Tom looked astounded. However, the expert actor caught himself and politely waved back.

The young blonde boy then grew wide-eyed and drew his lips to form a long oval. He looked a bit like the codfish Tom often passed when walking around the muggle marketplaces. Tom rolled his eyes in disgust, only to find that Draco had added a pair of hands to act as gills to complete his fishy façade. This time, Tom couldn't help but crack a smile at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. Draco was swathed in a velvety black sheet of fabric that made him look like a bat. Around his shoulders lay a sheet of charcoal gray fabric that would become his pants. He looked like a parody of a dementor, at least, from the pictures and sketches he had seen of dementors.

Draco began to raise his arms and flap them about, as if to show off his wings. Draco's antics caused Tom to chuckle lightly and sigh. Tom was starting to wonder if he had picked the right person to be his new right hand warrior. At that moment, Madame Malkin grabbed Draco's flapping arms and stopped him. The needle hanging from the side of her mouth, along with the swirling anger rising in her eyes caused Draco to stop his silliness. Had he really just been fooling around with the one and only Voldemort?

Hermione watched Draco out of the corner of her and let out a laugh. For as ill willed and rude as the ferret could be, he had moments like this where he reminded Hermione of a young Harry and Ron. That it struck her; he wasn't doing this to entertain the baby, he was acting up for someone outside. Hermione turned from her spot to see Tom Riddle leaning on the side of the window, a smile creeping onto his marble face. Hermione continued to watch Tom warily as Draco's performance went on, and soon enough, Tom Riddle let out a little laugh.

Hermione became pale as she found herself watching the future dark lord laugh and shrug just like any teenager. Soon Madame Malkin forced Draco to stop, and the fake happiness on Tom's face slipped off as easily as it had slipped on. He truly was a fantastic actor. Hermione shuddered as she felt a new pair of eyes watching her.

The Andersen girl had been watching Tom's little performance in utter distain. He turned to face her with his usual mask of easy-going charm, but he couldn't get out of his head how disgusted she was when she looked at him. He suddenly felt the urge to use Legilimency on her, but restrained himself-he didn't know anything about her skill set yet. Tom decided to wait until later-he did not want to be caught if she actually could protect her mind.

Tom noted that the girl tried to conceal her anger against him-and she did a fairly decent job. If Tom had been an average person, he would have just thought she was tired and wanted to leave soon. But Tom was special-just like he had told himself his entire life-just like the great _Dumbledore_ had admitted to him when he was told he was going to Hogwarts. Tom saw right through her "tired" smile and saw something much more strange and suspicious-hate. Tom became confused for once in his life-he couldn't possibly have done something to make her fear him yet.

Draco seemed to have already fallen for Tom's friendly gestures, but Hermione refused to take the bait. Tom snapped himself out of it. She wasn't the concern right now- he could ponder about such petty things when he was dead, which, luckily for him, would never occur unless someone managed to kill his Horcruxes as well. And, honestly, who would have the intelligence or the nerve hunt down seven Horcruxes, kill them, and then kill him? Tom scoffed at the absurdity of the idea. Like _that_ would ever happen.

**I know, it's short. :P I'm not too thrilled about this chapter, but oh well. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 6: The Gift of Giving

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 6: The Gift of Giving**_

**Hey readers! I'm so sorry that my updates are so sporadic and short. School can be a bit of a time suck. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon. This chapter will certainly please the reviewers who requested a character pair-up. Enjoy reading. Thanks!**

The lovely reviewers have been (overall):

DamnationOfTheDead

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Shannon the Original

LoonyBin

paulsgirl123

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione stormed into the Room of Requirement and attempted to slam the door shut. Draco stopped it and closed it behind him. The aggravated brunette began to pace in circles.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!" Hermione clenched her hands into fist and let out a frustrated scream. Draco leaned up against the wall and stayed away from the center of the room to avoid Hermione's dangerous mood.

"I take it you hate him?" Hermione whipped her head around from her spot to give him a deathly glare. Draco kept his cool though, no matter how much he wanted to cower in the corner. Draco couldn't help but notice how cute she was when she was upset. In two seconds, Hermione was nose to nose with Draco, with her wand pointed at is neck.

"Don't you dare try to be cheeky with me right now. After having to spend all day with that wanker, I really can't handle it. And especially since you two were as thick as thieves during the whole ordeal…ugh, it feels like I've been tortured…or worse, expelled."

Draco watched as Hermione's face turned Gryffindor crimson. He couldn't help but grin at the beautiful girl fuming in front of him.

"You're cute when you're upset." Hermione's eyebrows furrowed at this.

"You remember when I socked you third year outside Hagrid's hut?"

"How could I forget? I had a black eye for three weeks."

"Say something like that to me ever again, and I'll beat you to a pulp. You'll be worse off than the Chudley Cannons."

Draco chuckled. "Remind me not to mess with you. I don't want to **ever** be comparable to the Chudley Canons. I know you're a Hufflepuff now, but you still have that Lion fierceness." Draco closed the gap between them as he gently tucked a piece of fly away hair behind Hermione's ear.

Hermione raised one eyebrow and huffed. She blew another piece of hair out of her face, only to have it fall right back in front of her face. Draco tucked that piece behind the other ear. He lightly touched her ear, and traced it all the way down to the small silver studs. The tension was so thick between the two teenagers that not even the strongest dark curses could break it. Both were silently holding their breathe.

"I got you a Christmas present, you know." Draco whispered in her ear.

"Oh really? How un-snakelike of you." The tensioned loosened a bit.

"Oh, come on, not all of us are cold-bloodied killers like Riddle."

"Yuh-huh, sure."

"Keep the stereotypes to yourself there, Gryffinpuff."

"Gryffinpuff? Are you serious right now?" Hermione gave her best Pansy Parkinson face, making Draco's eyebrows arch and the edge of his lips linger in a smile.

He struck a dramatic pose. "Yes, I'm Sirius, Sirius Black." Hermione was sent reeling into laughter.

"How do you know about that?" Hermione finally asked when she could evenly breathe again.

"Magic." She sighed and sat on a stool.

"Honestly though, how did you know about that? You've probably never even had a conversation with the man."

"Aunt Bella used to make fun of him…Where are we anyway?"

"The kitchen." Draco frowned.

"Whose kitchen?"

"My parents'. This was the kitchen from the house I grew up in."

"Was?"

Hermione was hesitant to answer. "Another family owns it now."

"And your parents? What happened to them?"

She couldn't look him in the eyes. "They past away in a car accident after I sent them to live in Sydney."

"Temporary memory charm?" Hermione shook her head.

He sat down on the stool next to her and took her hands in his.

"I better give you your gift now then. But close your eyes first!"

"Draco… this really isn't necessary."

"That's the thing about gifts; they don't need to be necessary. Now close your eyes already before I jinx them closed myself!"

"Fine." Hermione closed her eyes, and the butterflies began to flutter in her stomach. Draco rummaged around in his pocket before finding the small, rectangular box. He gingerly placed it in her hands.

"Okay, you can open them now." Hermione opened her eyes to find a velvety black box. She carefully opened the lid to find a jagged beach rock. Before she could even say anything, Draco waved his wand over the rock. The rock transformed into a small, clear glass orb. Hermione went to touch it, and the orb erupted into a kaleidoscope of colors glittering around them. Hermione couldn't help but gape at the beauty of it.

"It's the Aurora Borealis."

"It's anything you want it to be." Hermione turned her attention away from the lights to face him.

"Thank you Draco." She enveloped him in a hug. He took in the raspberry scent of her hair. She sniffed his musky cologne. When they finally ended the hug, their foreheads were pressed together. "I've got a present for you too Draco. Close your eyes though." Draco obediently closed his eyes. She leaned in close and placed a light kiss on his cheek. Draco's eyes flipped open, wide with shock. Neither of them had noticed that the glass orb had turned into a pulsing heart with a golden-green dragon crawling around it.

"Happy Christmas Draco."

_Ta-Dah! Hope this satisfies you all for now. And if you're not Dramione fans, it's okay- this won't last. Come on- think about it. This is under the Tomione section for a reason- much to Draco's protest. "My father will hear about this!" Have a good St. Pat's Day!_


	8. Chapter 7: Shivers Down the Spine

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 7:**_

**Hey readers! I might be updating more often now, :-). You see, I've randomly write sections of this story, so I've got a scattering of parts (especially in the middle and end). Plus, summer is coming somewhat soon, which means I'll have more time to dedicate to the story. This is just a projection, but I'm hoping to have this story complete by its first year anniversary. Anyhow, I was reading the story stats and I never realized how international fan fiction is. So far, I've seen that people from the US, Canada, Sweden, UK, Philippines, Poland, Australia, Hungary, and (so many others!) are reading _Love is_. I'm honored to have so such a variety of nationalities interested in my work! And please, let me know if I have missed any, I do not want to offend any of you. Speaking of, what nationality do you think I am? **

**Thanks for reading!**

And the lovely reviewers have been (overall):

DamnationOfTheDead

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wicked1398

ShadowAngel55

Shannon the Original

LoonyBin

paulsgirl123

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

The next few days of the holiday season passed by quickly. Hermione and Draco tried to keep to themselves, with the exception of meal times and the placement tests Dippet demanded they take. Both Hermione and Draco were in all of the same classes: Ancient Runes, History of Magic, Potions, Defense against the Arts, Charms, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Astronomy. The only down side to there schedule was that they had also had every with the one and only Tom Riddle. So much for the one benefit of being a Hufflepuff…

Hermione spent her mornings curled up in the restricted section. She had already sucked up to Slughorn and had gotten permission to go there to catch up on information for her "rigorous" potions class. She was trying to research anything she could on time travel or ancient magic. Unfortunately, Hogwarts did not provide that wide of a selection on the subject. In fact, there was only one book on both subjects, and that was the _Wizarding World Encyclopedia_, which had taken 3 days to find. According to her only source, time travel was an impossible idea conjured up by wizards attempting to combine wizarding magic with muggle science to send people back or forth in time. And ancient magic included a variety old magic dating back to around 500 BCE. Hermione sighed deeply and let her forehead hit the page with a loud **'thunk'**.

The rest of the day, Hermione would take walks around the snowy grounds and then sit by the hearth in the Hufflepuff commons. Draco accompanied her on these walks, but refused to go into the badger commons. He didn't like having to go into the kitchens, and crawl through a long passage hidden by a barrel just to get the commons. Draco was still particularly prissy about getting his clothes dirty. Hermione didn't mind-she thought it was unique, even if it was a little strange.

Draco spent his first few mornings awkwardly wandering around the castle waiting for Hermione. He knew not to bug her when she was "working" on a project. By the end of the week, he was spending his mornings talking with Tom in the rather familiar Slytherin dungeons. Tom let Draco do most of the talking, occasionally adding a comment or two on the matter. They mostly discussed their proud heritage from Salthazar Slytherin- Tom never once mentioned that he was a half-blood. Tom even showed Draco his ring to prove it. Draco vaguely remembered something Hermione had said about the significance of the ring, but Draco had tuned her out.

Draco and Tom oddly and quickly became… friends? Draco had never really had a "friend" before, and neither had Tom. But they both would never admit to that. Draco supposed he had a reliable friend in Hermione, but with the way things were going between them as of late, he wasn't quite sure what category to put her in. Friend? Companion? Girlfriend? Well, whatever they were, Draco was happy with it. What he and Hermione had was real; not like the arranged relationships he had before with a slew of Slytherin girls, and certainly not like the show she had put on with Ron for the world.

Tom spent his mornings trying to not poke his eyes out with a fork when talking to d'Arc. Even though he was easier to talk to than the rest of Tom's Knights, d'Arc was still so… dull; like dirty dishwater. Then again, so were all of his motley crew of Knights. He had no idea how to hold a conversation with someone. He simply overran it like a muggle automobile. It became apparent to Tom very quickly that d'Arc was used to being the center of attention and liked being in charge. The only reason, it seemed, that he was able to talk to Andersen was because she refuses to be silent. She always had something to say, whether it was necessary or not. Perhaps d'Arc did it out of respect-she definitely had the power in their relationship. Or perhaps it just proved Tom's theory that love weakens you. Tom thought his theory sounded the most conclusive.

He made polite small talk with the Andersen girl, but there was no need to go further than that. After all, what use would a Hufflepuff be for a group of crusading knights trying to extinguish the "vermin" from the magical world? Tom knew she was supposed to be smart, but if she was book-smart, she'd be in Ravenclaw, and if she was street-smart she'd be in Slytherin. Alas, she was a little, furry badger, and she would have to just be an audience member in Tom's great stage production of…well, Tom hadn't quite decided what to call his war on wizarding world. Perhaps he'd let a lucky historian choose, they were always talented at coming up with quippy names.

In the rest of Tom's time, he would spend wandering around the library. Although he had read most of the books, he still was able to find priceless information buried within the pages of any random book. Sometimes, Tom would even track who read what book to perform an analysis of the person. His favorite books seldom had any names in them, and most certainly had Tom's muggle given name multiple times. He couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his porcelain face as he flipped through well-worn pages of _Hogwarts: A History._ Tom couldn't help but take pride in the little notes he had written in the side panels in black. But now he saw another set of notes appearing in the book, in a small, messy script. The notes were actually quite good, to Tom's surprise. The person had gone through and was correcting the grammatical errors as well as the historical. But who could be writing them? Maybe Tom had found a new game to play. All the more thrilling, the game was being played by two opponents unaware of each other. It was the perfect thing to ease Tom's mind off of the stress from running a group of untrained hooligans.

December 30 approached unexpectedly like a gleaming snitch during a rainy Quidditch match. Draco was planning a romantic dinner for New Year's Eve in the Room of Requirement. Hermione had arranged to visit the Department of Mysteries that afternoon, and would not be back till the next morning. She was hoping to possibly look through the archives on parsel-tongue magic and time-travel. Draco had translated Ron's spell for her as well-"_Time turns for those whose destinies have been tampered by the Fates_!" This perplexed her beyond belief.

Tom was excited because his Knights would arrive today for Slughorn's last meeting before d'Arc and Andersen joined their ranks. On New Year's Eve, an official party would be held for all Sluggies alike. The theme was _Night Sky_. Tom honestly could not have cared if he was under the _Imperio. _ But more than that, Tom was excited because he was going to spring the perfect trap to ensnare knowledge on Horcruxes from Slughorn. The old man would never know what hit him.

Later that evening, after Draco had gone to bed early and Hermione had left, the Knights descended into the dungeons for an unofficial Slug Party.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

*If you better wish to understand this next section, pull out your copies of _Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince_, go to Chapter 23: Horcruxes, and read pages 494-499. It discusses the whole scene where Tom cons Slughorn into information on Horcruxes.*

Tom walked out around 11:15- the Horcrux plan was a success. Slughorn was practically eating out of his hand the entire night. Tom smiled to himself as he headed towards the library again to put back a useless book called _Magick Moste Evile_ which only gave one small blurb on Horcruxes. The book was in ratty, mildewed condition Tom furrowed his brow in disgust as he ascended the stairs. As Tom reached the Tom, Peeves flew over him in a hurry. The poltergeist bugged everyone with the exception of Tom. Peeves felt an unnatural force of evil oozing from the boy, even more evil than his own. Tom snuck into the library and dropped off the book, but not before grabbing _Hogwarts: A History. _A little night reading wouldn't hurt him.

He sauntered back to his room, but not without the notice of a certain someone glowering at him from behind a statue. Hermione had arrived back at school ahead of schedule empty-handed. Even the Department of Mysteries was of no use to her. She stared at him as he gracefully walked back to the dungeons, and hated herself deeply for it. She couldn't help but watch him. He was like a magnet. However, she refused to be attracted- and opted to be repelled instead. Just as she was about to sneak out from behind her hiding spot, Peeves appeared out of no where.

"Ooohhh, a new one!" He grinned down at her like a she was a Christmas present. Hermione inwardly sighed; she hated Peeves almost as much as she hated being called 'mudblood'. She attempted to scout away, but he set up a barrier all around her.

"What do you want Peeves?"

"Just to have a bit of fun…" A Cheshire cat grin appeared on his face, stretching from ear to ear. Godric was he ugly. Hermione struggled as the barriers around her closed in, not allowing her to move at all. Hermione was doing her best to try to stay calm.

"Peeves, I'll count to three. If you don't release me by then, I'll scream bloody murder."

"Newbie, that's what we have the _Bloody Baron_ for. Yep- you're definitely a Hufflepuff!" He cackled with delight. Hermione turned bright red at this.

"One…" Peeves swirled around her, making faces all the while.

"Two…" Peeves began to make blow up large water balloons.

"Three!" Hermione opened her mouth to scream just as the first dozen balloons came flying at her.

"PEEVES!" The balloons were stopped, hovering only centimeters away from Hermione's face. They both looked down the hall, only to find Tom walking quickly towards him, with Draco on his heels.

"What have I told you about Slytherins?" Tom sneered at Peeves. For the first time in her life, Hermione was shocked to see that Peeves was truly terrified.

"…Not to even glance at them." Peeves was acting like a scolded puppy.

"And what did I tell you would happen if you did mess with Slytherins?" Tom looked even more upset than before. Draco had a mixture of fright and confusion on his face.

"That you would make sure that I would have to leave," he started, "_but she isn't a Slytherin!" _Peeves rushed. Tom looked bored by all of this. He noticed Hermione still struggling with the barriers and balloons. With a small swish, the balloons evaporated, and the barriers became sand. She managed to murmur a _thank you_ before Tom continued.

"Peeves, isn't anyone I even grace my presence with under my protection?" Hermione wanted to hurl at that comment- what a pompous cockroach!

"Yes… I'm sorry…sir." Peeves bent his head in shame and respect. Hermione and Draco both went slack-jawed. They knew that he had manipulated The Grey Lady, but not the other ghosts. The fact that Peeves, who had only respected Fred and George, bowed down to Riddle truly showed what a charismatic and manipulative jerk he was.

"I'm in a pleasant mood tonight Peeves- however…" Tom took a dramatic pause. Peeves eyes went wide, and he seemed to be hanging on Tom's every word. "If anything like this is to occur again, you know **exactly what will happen**." Peeves eagerly nodded his head and zoomed away.

Draco ran over to hug and check on Hermione.

"Salthazar, are you all right?" Draco was on the verge of being frantic. Hermione nodded her head, she was too tired to speak.

"And may I ask what you were doing out this late, Miss Andersen?"

"I just came back from the Ministry and was walking back from Dippet's office," Hermione whispered.

"You weren't supposed to be back until late this morning." Tom said bluntly.

"Ministry was unhelpful-as usual." Hermione sighed. Tom inwardly smiled; someone else agreed with him that the Ministry was a huge waste-but she was a Hufflepuff. Did that even count?

"Well, I will not deduct points tonight, but you now owe me. Especially since I just saved your life back there. Remember, I didn't have to stop Peeves." Tom's characteristic curved line of a smile appeared. Draco nudged Hermione. She looked up at him and remembered there conversation from this morning. They needed to stay under the radar, especially if they where not even supposed to be here. Hermione had a hard time excepting that she could not be vocal in class, but at least she could be intelligent on paper. They needed to be easily forgotten-to fit in. And this required both of them to stay on Tom's good side.

"Of course Mr. Riddle."

"I've told you quite a few times there is no need to call me that- Tom is sufficient." Tom plastered that charming fake grin on his face-the one that made every girl swoon, every boy want to friend him, and every teacher want to give him A's.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you sound much more like a Riddle to me than a Tom." They both fake laughed at this.

"Wouldn't that make you Andersen, if we go by last names?" Hermione shrugged at this.

"It's only a name-a title. It doesn't define who I am." Tom agreed, but he would never tell her that. That was practically the story of his life so far-trying to get out of a name, title, status.

"Well, I won't keep you two up. Goodnight." Tom sauntered away. Draco held Hermione until Tom's shadow was long gone, then bent down to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"I know you need some sleep-we've got a big day tomorrow." He winked at her.

"Oh really?" She yawned.

"Yes, but only if you get some sleep- so scoot." He planted one more kiss on her cheek before she waved goodbye and headed for the kitchens. Draco watched her walk away and sighed. Was it too early to say he was in love with her?

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione settled into the golden sheets of the Hufflepuff commons. As she drifted off, she could have sworn she heard the faint sounds of a piano playing through the walls.

_A swirling room, with lots of black ,navy, gold, silver, and bronze flashed before her eyes. The dresses of the girls twirled. Guests were laughing, drinking punch, but were primarily dancing. A shot rang out, along with a bright flash of light, and everyone screamed. A few girls fainted. Everyone in the room froze in mid-motion. A cloaked man stood in the center of the floor, with nothing but those bright, red eyes standing out. He took off his hood- he was half human, half snake. In his arms lay Harry's dead body. Hermione tried to run to him, but she couldn't move. She was frozen in the arms of grinning Draco Malfoy. Slowly, he dropped her, and walked to join the snake man. As Draco walked to join him, the snake man became less snake-like and more man, eventually turning into the beautiful face of Tom Riddle. Draco stood by his side, and flicked Harry's head. Tom dropped Harry's body and hissed. Suddenly, the patterns on the girls dresses turning into enchanted snakes, all slithering forward to consume Harry's body. She once again tried to run, but this time she was being pulled down to the floor by a golden puddle of liquid. It kept sucking her down as the snakes drew closer to Harry. As the first snake posed to strike, only Hermione's eyes could be seen. She could have sworn as the puddle enclosed on her that it was two Dracos, not Tom and Draco that stood before her. She was surrounded by darkness, with only the glowing eyes of Tom Riddle glaring at her. He hissed something at her, but she couldn't make out what it was exactly. A snake sprung out of nowhere, flying towards her. She opened her mouth to scream, and… _

Hermione woke up in a cold sweat. She glanced at the alarm by her bed; it was only 1:30 in the morning. She tossed and turned, trying every possible way to fall asleep. She counted sheep, uses of potions; anything. Finally, at 3 AM, when her blood-shot eyes were still open, she crept from her bed to take a sleeping draught.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Draco and Tom sat with the other Slytherins that morning at 8. The other students who were attending Slughorn's party would not be arriving until noon. Draco fit in well enough with the other boys. There was Jonathan Avery, Steven Nott, Clifford Mulicber, Antony Rosier, Abraxas Malfoy, and Richard Lestrange. Draco was felt extremely at ease with this new crew- these people were obviously his peers. He felt like he truly belonged for once in his life. His sense of ease was so great that he missed the fact that Hermione was nowhere in sight. The other boys had no idea who or what Hermione was. Tom noticed the fact that she was missing- but did not bother to mention. The first step d'Arc needed to take as a Knight was to let go of love and those idiotic emotions. Tom was proud to note his Knight had already begun to forget the Andersen girl- and Tom didn't even have to intervene.

Hermione woke up at 10 AM- much to her dismay. She threw on a fresh jumper and a pencil skirt, and dashed into the kitchens for a slice of toast. Crosser wanted to make her a full course meal- but she politely declined. Instead, she ran to the library to look up information on a new topic-symbolism in dreams. She had never been one to research anything related to Divination, but after the nightmare she had experienced, she felt the need to better understand it. She had just dug into a worthy book, _What Every Witch Needs to Know About Her Dreams_, when she was grabbed from behind, a icy hand covering her mouth. She tried to scream, but the person grabbed her out of the chair and pulled her back against their chest.


	9. Chapter 8: Staying Afloat

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 8: Staying Afloat**_

**Hey readers! This is going to be a long chapter- hang in there and continue to scroll! I'm thinking of renaming the story, any suggestions?**

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OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione was dragged back by the attacker, and she trashed about with all her might. She attempted to look down, but her head was held back. It was like being taken by the Snatchers all over again. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She flashed through the facts in her mind: the attacker's hands were smooth- the attacker was of the upper class; probably a pureblood. However, the hands were large ad practically wrapped around her face, so it was most likely male. She thought out all possible attack- it would be best to perform muggle attack first- a pureblood would not expect it. Weakest points of attack were the neck, knee cap, eyes, ears, neck, throats, top of the foot, and the reproductive organs. She did not need to seriously injure him, so there was no need to "seriously maim or injure" as Dobby once put it. And she did all of this in a matter of seconds.

Her eyes flashed open, and the lion survival instincts kicked in. She stepped down on her attacker's feet, and bit the hand that was covering her mouth. Her elbow went flying back into his nose, and her leg soared up into the place it would hurt him the most.

"Ow!" The attacker was knocked into a bookshelf with a loud 'thud'. She turned around and saw… a Slytherin. She accioed the snake's wand and crouched over his slumped body. She pulled him up by the collar of his shirt. The boy was obviously older- perhaps a sixth or seventh year. He had a slicked back chestnut hair, a scattering of freckles, pale green eyes, and was lean like a seeker. He had sickly red blood gushing down his pale face, and a sneer on his face.

"Who are you?" He whipped the blood from his face with a crisp sleeve. His eyes glared with a cold glitter.

"Avery, Jonathan Avery."

"And what exactly were you trying to do to me, Mr. Avery?" Hermione's voice remained just as cold as Avery's had, and it made Avery's hair stand on edge.

"I'm unable to tell you that **Miss** Andersen." The words came out with a hiss. Hermione raised an eyebrow, silently brought her wand to his temple and tightened her hold on his shirt.

"I suggest you tell me."

"Or what?" Avery's brown furrowed.

"…Let's just stay I have friends in high places, Mr. Avery."

Avery scoffed. "So what? That makes two of us lady." A sneaky grin appeared on her face.

"Oh, that's sweet of you. You thought I was talking about the political ladder." The pride on his face drained away with its color, leaving him paler than usual.

"Alas, I was speaking of friends that have magical power. Friends in 'high places' that can make your worst nightmares a reality. Not just in England, but all over Europe." Hermione could have sworn Avery went from white to gray in only a few seconds.

"Now Mr. Avery, a lady like me should not have to threaten a strong man like you to get a little information. And I really do not appreciate being pushed around. Will you please tell me why you grabbed me?" Hermione was inwardly laughing- it was as if she was channeling Ginny or Lavender Brown. She even batted her eyes once or twice. She let go of his shirt collar and lowered her wand.

Avery sighed and rubbed his neck. "…d'Arc is planning a special event for you. He asked Tom and the rest of us for some help distracting you and helping him prepare. I was put in charge of sneaking up on you and distracting you. Tom and the rest are setting up the enchantments. Obviously, I took the 'sneaking up' too literally. I'm sorry Miss Andersen." He actually looked pitiful.

"It's fine. Are you alright?" Hermione quickly glanced over him-his nose was bleeding, and his foot was probably bruised. She healed him without even batting an eye. "There, that's better. Now I can actually see your face." They both smiled.

"I can see why he likes you; d'Arc, I mean. I don't ever think I've met a girl like you."

Hermione paused for a moment. "I supposed I'll take that as a compliment."

"I suppose I should make a proper introduction. I'm Jonathan Avery-seventh year Slytherin, seeker, and Captain of the Quidditch team." He offered her his hand- and she shook it.

"Hermione Andersen-sixth year Hufflepuff." Jonathan gave a polite smile and took back his hand quickly.

"I must say- it's a shame you're a badger. We need more women with personality in the Snake tank." They both rose to their feet. Avery dusted himself off.

"Well, thank you. Now, what time am I allowed to go downstairs for the 'surprise'?" Avery glanced at his watch.

"It's only 10:30 right now- and he is supposed to take you after lunch, so you've got a good 2 hour wait." She nodded her head. "What would you like to do in the mean time?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you're not being very helpful." She let out a laugh that time, and a true smile appeared on her face.

"At Beauxbatons, the girls would always be trying out new hair or skin care products in their free time."

"And the boys?"

"Similar to the girls, except with hair gel." Avery cackled and leaned against a chair. "What do you all tend to do in your free time here at Hogwarts?"

"Well, there's Quidditch, Hogsmeade, eating, Wizard Chess, pranks, fighting, snogging, and partying."

"You make it sound like everyone here is a Gryffindor."

"You've only been here a week, and you were able to figure that out? Ha!" He took a moment to breath after he was overwhelmed with another burst of laughter. "Well, the Gryffindors specialize in partying and pranks, but the rest are free game for the houses."

"What about the Hufflepuffs?"

"Eh, they're nothing special, but now that they've got you, I'm sure you'll add some spice to their dull lives. Now, would you like to join me on a walk in the meantime?"

"It would be an honor." The two strolled out of the library door, but Hermione had made sure to tuck the books under her arm. They took a long walk on the snowy grounds before returning to the castle for a hot lunch. The pair didn't talk too much; mindless chatter would have disrupted the quiet beauty of the grounds. The inside of the castle was now bustling with the sounds of Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. When the couple walked in, all eyes were on them. Many of them stared in curiosity; some in disgust. Word had spread quickly of the odd transfer students. The girls leaned in and whispered to each other of the star-light color haired boy in Slytherin and the frizzy-haired brunette in Hufflepuff.

Draco saw them come in and gestured for them to join the rest of the group at the Slytherin table. Hermione sat next to Draco, and Jonathan sat on the other side of her. Riddle sat across from Draco, and soon was joined by a flouncing twit with dark black hair that had a navy sheen in the light of the Great Hall. Hermione recognized her instantly from the portrait in the Black Manor. She was a horrifying combination of Pansy Parkinson and Lavender.

"Oh Tommy! I've missed you so much!" She wrapped her tentacle-like arms around Tom in a tight squeeze. "It's such a pity you couldn't join Alphie, mother, father, and I on holiday in Vienna. Oh, you would have loved it there! Loads of historical stuff that you might appreciate..." She finally noticed Hermione and Draco's presence at the table and stage whispered to Tom. "Who are _they_?"

Tom nodded in their general direction. Draco responded "I'm Draco d'Arc, and this is Hermione Andersen. We're transfer students from Beauxbatons."

She crinkled her nose. "And why are you here?"

Draco tired to keep cool and collected. "It's currently unsafe due to the muggle war that's occurring."

"No, why are you at my table? God, what are you, a Hufflepuff?" Hermione's brow furrowed and Draco reached for her hand under the table. Walburga glanced at them, letting her mouth gape open. She truly did have horrible teeth. Hermione inwardly cringed at the sight of them. "Ohmigawd, you are!" She crunched up her face and disgust. "And let me guess, you're a mudblood to boot."

"I'm a half-blood actually." Hermione was trembling. Draco looked at her with concern- from his own experience he knew how heated she got on the subject of blood status.

"Tommy, can you make the mutt go away please?" Walburga pouted her lips and rapidly blinked her eyes. Tom put one hand over hers and looked into her eyes.

"Now Walburga, be reasonable. You will have to encounter them at want point or another, and it's better to build an immunity to them now while you can find out their weaknesses." It took all of Hermione's willpower not to reach across the table and sock Riddle. Who had died and made this twit king? Was he smoking something or just delusional? He was a half-blood for Merlin's sake! She had known he was anti muggle and muggle-borns, but why was he against half-bloods?

Draco didn't have to glance over to know how aggravated she was. He squeezed her hand gently and she glanced over at him. He gave her a sad smile as if to say 'Everything will be okay, even though it isn't'. She squeezed his hand back and turned to face the shepherd's pie that had appeared on her plate.

In the meantime, Tom had soothed the impudent Walburga and had turned to his meal. She was one of the twitiest people he had met at Hogwarts, but she provided gossip on the teachers, money, and valuable allies, so he was forced to treat her humanely. However, a more president issue was that he now had a new meeting place for the Knights. Draco had taken them to what he called 'The Room of Requirement', a magical room that transformed itself to suit the user's needs. Draco had changed it into something gushy and romantic. Unfortunately for Draco, he was terrible at Transfiguring anything too complex.

Tom didn't believe that the room existed at first- there was no mention of it Hogwarts: A History. But seeing is believing, and what Tom saw shocked him beyond his wildest dreams. The room provided the user with whatever materials they needed- which meant Tom now had access to real training equipment, a planning table, and his very own prison. How Draco knew about it seemed a bit fishy though. When Tom had asked him, Draco had hesitated- then said that Hermione had heard it from an older family friend who had attended Hogwarts. And the whole thing sounded like a load of Slughorn's compliments-too fake to be near reality. Tom decided to let Draco get away with lying this once though; after all, he had provided a new room for them all. It felt good to know that Tom had chosen the right person.

The lunch hour flew by quickly, and Draco had fun meeting his new classmates. Hermione, on the other hand, stayed icy silent and glared at her hands like they had four heads. Tom noticed all of this, but said nothing. He kept up his usual façade of goody-two-shoes. Walburga had asked him to take a walk with her, but he had the happy honor of telling her no because he was helping Slughorn set up for the party. She had pouted, begged and pleaded, tugging on his sleeve all the while, which grew quite annoying. He had just had these robes cleaned, and seeing as these were his only ones, he wanted to keep them that way. Salazar knows how many germs Walburga had picked up by sharing makeup or spit with someone.

Draco had rushed Hermione out of the room as soon as lunch was over, and dragged her near the library corridor. On the way, they ran through Sir Nearly Headless Nick, who was a bit startled by the pair. They had quickly apologized and continued on their way, and Nick commented on the 'blooming of young love'.

As they approached the library, Hermione stopped in her tracks.

"Draco, if our date is the library, I'm afraid I've already gone today…by the way, that was a _wonderful_ decoy you had." Draco blushed and looked at his feet sheepishly.

"How bad was it?"

"Oh, he just grabbed me from behind and made me feel like I was being taken by a Snatcher." Draco arched his eyebrows.

"Ugh… I told the git to just kidnap your attention, not kidnap you. Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm peachy- though Jonathan is going to be a bit sore for a while."

"Been there, done that." They both laughed, but caught each others' eye. "Well, are you ready?" She nodded her head. "Now, close your eyes." She raised one eyebrow, and he replied in a similar fashion. "Please?" She sighed and consented. Draco came around behind her and gently put his hand over her eyes.

"Isn't covering my eyes a bit redundant since they are already closed?"

"It's just a precaution." He changed her direction and they walked through a door. A salty breeze blew their way, and she sniffed the air.

"Room of Requirement?"

"No, I transported you to a beach getaway."

"Yes, and apparition is possible and school grounds." He sighed and removed his hands. Her eyes flew open and she took in a pleasant beach with a nice hill and cliff. It looked rather familiar though.

"Must you always be so sarcastic?"

"Always." Her face lit up and she took in the fresh air. He grabbed her hand and led her up the hill, where a picnic basket and cloth were waiting, along with some butterbeer and chocolates.

Hermione lied down on the blanket and took in the sun. Draco lay on the other side of the basket, modeling her action. When she put down her hand from where it had been previously resting on her stomach, Draco lightly took it and began tracing the lines on her palm. She began humming the lyrics to 'Magic Works' by the Weird Sisters. Draco, meanwhile, was drinking a bottle of butterbeer and staring at the fake clouds above.

His cloud gazing was interrupted by Hermione, who had actually begun singing the lyrics as well.

_So, believe  
>That magic works<br>Don't be afraid  
>Of being hurt<br>Don't let this magic die  
>The answer's there<br>Oh, just look in her eyes _

Draco looked over at her and bit his lip. She didn't notice and kept staring at the clouds above.

_And make your final move  
>Don't be scared, she wants you to<br>Yeah, it's hard, you must be brave  
>Don't let this moment slip away <em>

_Now, believe-_ Draco cut her as he reached across the blanket and pulled her over, lightly and gently kissing her. He quickly pulled and blushed. She let a small grin cross her face.

"This is the most relaxation I've had in ages. I've had a great time- thank you." Draco merely shrugged his shoulders in reply. "I've haven't been to a beach for a long time, not since-" And then it dawned on her- why this beach was so familiar.

"Not since what Hermione?"

"Dobby died." She let at in an inaudible whispered.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She frowned and placed her head in her hands.

"Draco, is this just some random beach or did it have some purpose in your life?"

"Of course it's a memory, how else would it be in such vivid detail? When I was younger, maybe seven or eight, my family visited a near by seaport. I had nothing to do, so I begged my mother relentlessly to let me visit the beach nearby. She finally agreed. Mother and I laid out on the sand for hours, just enjoying the surroundings. I didn't have any sun block on, so I was burnt to a crisp. Mother hasn't let me see much of the sun since." He chuckled, while Hermione's complexion paled. "Hey, what's bugging you?"

"We are sitting on the spot where Dobby was buried." Draco's face approached a sickly shade of gray.

"Oh Salazar, I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to pick a location you had bad memories about. At least it isn't my family's Manor though." Hermione gave him the look of death, and Draco realized his mistake too late. She turned away to the ocean, and lightly rubbed her arm.

"You still have it?" A nod was the only reply he got.

"Have you tried a glamour charm of some sort?" She whipped her head around and glared at him.

"I have tried every possible option _Malfoy_. The knife was cursed to make its marks permanent, and no magic can cover it. Only muggle make up can do that." Draco gulped and shook his head.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. This was supposed to be fun and relaxing and a bit romantic, not gloomy." She looked at him straight in the eye.

"I did have a lovely time Draco. But I think it'd be best if I just leave right now." She pecked him on the cheek and got up. He grabbed for her hand, but she pulled away. "I'll see you at the party at seven, alright?" He could only nod his head. He watched as she quickly walked down the cliff path to the door, as she silently let her eyes water up. She glanced at him one final time before opening the door and closing it. Draco was left with remorse and guilt building up inside of him like a fever. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

'Crap.'


	10. Chapter 9: Trampled Upon

**Love is…**

_**Chapter 9: **_

I haven't posted in almost three months, and I feel horrible for that but…I NEED A NEW STORY NAME: HELP! Best new story name gets to ask plot questions or something like that.

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Socrates

natalien

Ethy-Riddle

assi

hateme101

Miridea

andiescandieee

wicked1398

ShadowAngel55

Shannon the Original

LoonyBin

paulsgirl123

Lost O'Fallon Girl

loves2readalways

Anon

Tallia

Beautiful-Liar13

KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun

TheIronyBehindMyRealName

nhee

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione paced back and forth in her room like a tiger trapped in a cage. She stretched her fingers and then clenched them back in rapid succession. She eyed the black fabric nervously. After enough time, she pounced on the dress with trembling hands. Hermione barely scanned it before changing out of her school clothes and into the velvet dress. When she turned back to look in the mirror, her draw dropped. The one-shouldered ball gown fit her like a glove in the bodice. The rest followed out around her like rippling water. The entire dress was speckled in miniscule pieces of gold and silver that gleamed in the light like stars in the sky. It took her breath away.

She enchanted her hair back into a loose bun, pinned back with small barrettes that matched her dress. Her hand went to her wrist; she needed jewelry! Hermione transfigured a quill into an intricate silver bangle with Arabic runes on them. She covered her ugly and rather permanent scar with muggle makeup foundation powder. She smoothed out her dress one last time and tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. The brunette turned to walk out the door as she saw the stray note lying unread on the floor.

_Hermione,_

_I know I messed up today. I shouldn't have brought up anything from back home. I can't express to you how sorry I am for all the grief you've gone through over the years. However, keeping this in mind, I wish to make the best of the current circumstances and enjoy every available moment with you that I can. Especially since we don't have a way of going home currently. Please, come with me to Sluggie's party tonight so we may dazzle them with your wit and my charm. I hope the dress fits- and don't worry about the price-please consider it a peace offering from me. _

_Ever yours, Draco. _And with that, Hermione rushed out of the dormitory.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione's head peeked out from behind the kitchen's portrait and looked down the hall. She spotted Draco's shock blonde hair next to his grandfather's, along with that of Tom's, Jonathan's, and the rest of the gang. A few girls were mixed in, but they were all fairly nondescript. Taking a deep breath in, she slowly approached the group. The girls noticed her first, all gasping and growing wide-eyed. They nudged their dates and pointed to Hermione, forcing them to notice her. Jonathan gaped openly.

"Jonathan, please close your mouth. You look like a codfish." The boy abruptly closed his mouth, only to sheepishly grin. Draco turned around to face her, a smile beaming on his face.

"Glad to know the dress fits." He waggled his eyebrows and she playfully slapped his cloaked arm. He was wearing an outfit that was exactly like his Yule Ball robes, except his shirt was black and he wore a silky silver tie. The rest of the boys were dressed in similar fashion. Draco and Tom weren't the best dressed, but they certainly looked the most dashing in their attire. Tom wore all black yet he still radiated in the glow of the candle light.

Hermione grabbed Draco's arm and headed for Slughorn's party. She held her head up high, despite the snooty looks she got from the other girls. Professor Slughorn had transfigured his room to be larger, since he did not yet have Professor Merrythought's spacious office yet. The room was already crowded with various members of the Ministry, wizarding celebrities and academics. Draco escorted Hermione around the room on his arm as he hopelessly followed Tom like a lost puppy. Tom was guided by the all too generous hand of Horace Slughorn throughout the room. Tom acted the role of the perfect student. Draco seemed a little too eager to also shake everyone's hand, following with quiet, snickering commentary after each with Tom. Hermione's name was never mentioned in any of Slughorn's introductories. But she didn't care. She was tuning everything else out; noticing the smallest of details. A little bit of lipstick on a robe collar, a nervous eye tick, the trembling of the throat as it sipped fizzling summer wines, the firm handshakes that left one's hands red. The simple yet intricate ways humans interact amazed Hermione. A few women quietly complimented her on her outfit, but nothing more. In this day and age, even in the wizarding world, women were to be seen and not heard in pureblood society. Half-blood and muggle-born witches had been more forefront in the wizarding world, whether it was in academia, sports, or exploits.

Draco was enthralled by the members of high society around him. He had not been around many pureblood families since the fall of his family in his fifth year. The people he was meeting now were legendary in the stories of his mother and the long-winded histories of his father from Draco's grandfather. He felt like he belonged once again after so many years of feeling alone in the world. Draco was comfortable around Hermione, but here, here he was at home. He was himself, and Salthazar did it feel good.

Tom was thoroughly amused by the slime balls oozing around him that called themselves humans. They were preposterous excuses for wizards, making their way only through their inbreed connections. However, their inbreed connections is what made them so powerful, and Tom did love power. So he watched his slime balls as the interacted and noticed their little ticks and tricks: a little bit of lipstick on a robe collar, a nervous eye tick, the trembling of the throat as it sipped fizzling summer wines, the firm handshakes that left one's hands red. These were all things that he could use to his advantage later in life. Tom had learned over the years that people became rather desperate and were willing to anything to protect their secrets.

The evening dragged on in this same, slow pattern until dinner time. Tom was sat to the right of Slughorn, with Draco to his right, and Hermione next to Draco. Busy chitter chatter ensued throughout the mealtime with drunken toasts from where Slughorn sat at the head of the table. Everything seemed to go in high speed, and the house elves brought out course after course, and the guests proceeded to gobble it down. Tom was having a grand time listening to tongues slip secrets on dragon's blood pudding and honeysuckle and lavender wines. Draco mimicked Tom's eager grins and charming comments, but Hermione kept dead silent.

When the tables were conjured away and most of the guests' bellies were full, the lights were set low for the dancing. The wizarding songs were similar to the swing tunes of the muggle '40s. Draco quickly spun Hermione around the floor, but he kept tripping on her feet. Despite the fact that he was a Quidditch player, he had only paid his way onto the team, and was by no means athletic. Tom however, was whirling at great speed without any problems. He was the flame dancing in the light, and all the adults marveled and clapped at the sight at him.

Hermione silently thanked Godric when Jonathan offered her a dance instead. He was not as swift and nimble as Tom, but he was certainly a welcome change compared to Draco. Jonathan whispered jokes in her ear, and she laughed loud and clear. She felt Draco's jealous eyes searing into the back of her head, but she ignored him. She didn't want to feel like she had felt after the Yule Ball when Ron had melted away her affections for him. She was free like the flakes of snow falling from the enchanted sky above them.

When the dance was done, a slow song came on. Draco watched her walk over to the small table her she sat and rubbed her feet as Jonathan told her another story. He stood up with such force than the chair creaked across the floor. He offered his hand in her face, his fingers close enough to touch her nose. She looked up and saw stone cold eyes. These were the eyes that she had grown up with, the eyes that she had changed. But why is it that she seemed to have no hold? Was his nature stronger than her nurturing words? She did not have time to finish her thought though; he thrust his hand into her face a second time. She gently took his hand and sat up. She knew that Jonathan was most likely staring at them. Wizarding slow dancing was similar to muggle dancing, but it involved more circle turns.

Draco gripped her hand and waist tightly as he turned them around on the floor. He wouldn't give her eye contact, and proceeded to glance around the room.

Hermione leaned in closer and whispered, "Draco, what's wrong?" He only answered with a snarl. "What did I do wrong?" He glared down at her.

"I don't like my things being played with." She raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He gave an exasperated sigh.

"I mean, that I don't like how Jonathan was flirting with you. He overstepped his boundaries. He'll pay for that later. My father will hear about this-" Draco caught himself, and remembered that his father had not even been born yet. He stopped dancing, and Hermione grabbed his shoulder to keep him steady. The song ended, and he walked off the dance floor without her. He past by a table with an abandoned small gift on it and pocketed it for himself. Hermione stalked after him.

"Draco, what are you doing?"

"Heading to bed. I suggest you do the same." He hadn't even bothered to turn around to talk to her. She reached out to touch his shoulder. "Hermione, you're dormitory is on the other side of the castle." She sighed and shook her head with pieces of hair had fallen from her bun shaking around.

"Draco, who's gift was that?" He turned around now and shrugged his shoulders. He tossed the gift up and caught it.

"It's mine now."

"It's not yours though, you should put it back."

"You're not my mother."

"I'm not trying to be, Draco. I'm being a good person."

"Well, you're awfully bossy for someone who isn't trying to be my mother. And being a good person doesn't get you anywhere in life, Hermione. Just think, you can count all the famous Hufflepuffs on one hand." She scoffed and folded her arms. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I offend you? My apologies." He smiled and said all of this sarcastically.

"What happened to you?" It came out almost as a whisper.

"Nothing's happened to me."

"You're acting differently-like you did when we were younger."

"And what's wrong with that?" Draco now had his arms crossed as well.

"I just thought…"

"Just thought what Hermione?"

"I thought you were better than that." She turned on her heels promptly and quickly sped away to her dormitory with tears trickling down her face. Why is it that she always ended up crying at parties? Draco watched her walk away, and for a moment, he took a step forward and was going to chase her down. But he decided against it and headed toward the Slytherin commons.

Tom watched the whole scene from behind a darkened doorway. It seemed that he wouldn't even have to assist their break-up; they were doing that all on their own. He was quite proud of the fact that Draco had taken the decoy present Tom had left on the table- now he knew Draco was truly a Slytherin. But Hermione didn't seem to think so; and what was that she had mentioned about her childhood? That he was acting the same again? Oh well, it didn't matter what Hermione's story was, he just needed Draco to do his part.

Tom disillusioned himself and snuck away to clock tower. It was almost midnight. In the thick snow of the tower floor, he used his finger to draw himself a cake, complete with candles and frosting. He had received birthday gifts at the orphanage until he was eight, like shoelaces and shells and socks and other impractical things for a child, but the orphanage people didn't want to reward Tom for his behavior. Once at Hogwarts, Tom made sure that no one knew his blood status or his birthday. Those kind of questions were always so irksome. As the clock began to chime 12, he blew out his drawn candles, sending the light powdery snow drifting off into the midnight air. "Happy birthday to me then."

**Author's Note: It's short, I know. But I will publish more often now! Thank you for your patience and kindness. –who-needs-a-hero12**


	11. Chapter 10: Star Charted

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 10: Star Charted**_

The lovely reviewers:

DamnationOfTheDead

forbiddenluv

Socrates

natalien

Ethy-Riddle

assi

hateme101

Miridea

andiescandieee

wicked1398

ShadowAngel55

Shannon the Original

LoonyBin

paulsgirl123

Lost O'Fallon Girl

loves2readalways

Anon

Tallia

Beautiful-Liar13

KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun

TheIronyBehindMyRealName

nhee

Ambition Protector (Thank you for helping me create a new title!)

priestess-yukii18

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Who is she?"

"The new girl, I think"

"Is she all right? She looks like she's been crying"

"Oh the poor thing."

Hermione's puffy eyes fluttered open to see two girls standing by her bed posts. There was a tall girl with auburn hair and deep blue eyes standing beside a shorter blonde with a bob and light blue eyes.

"Sorry to have woken you, we were just wondering who you were…" voiced the taller girl.

"And if you're all right." The blonde piped in. Hermione rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned.

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm just tired." 

"That's a load of-!" The redhead was cut off.

"Emma! You have to stop this foul swearing!"

"Sorry," the girl murmured. "But you are lying." Hermione watched both girls hesitantly.

"I'm not alright. I'm in an unfamiliar place, my, well, I guess we were dating, my boyfriend and I got in a rather nasty tiff and he's all I got here and I hate his new friends, and my god I'm hungry." Each word built in intensity as she rushed through her story.

"Oh, you poor thing! Can you manage walking to the kitchens?" Hermione nodded, and she followed in step behind the two girls as they lead her through the warm commons.

"I'm Emma Spear by the way, and this is Jane Diggory." The lanky girl turned around and voiced.

"Everyone calls me Janey though."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hermione." The trio crawled through the tunnel and out into the kitchens. The house-elves noticed them and quickly rushed to their small table with plates full of French toast, eggs, sausage, and pumpkin juice.

After they had eaten a bit, Emma spoke up.

"So, where are you from?" Hermione sipped her pumpkin juice and told them her fake story. Both girls sympathized with her.

Emma told her story next. "I'm muggleborn. My parents are doctors, and my older brother Henry got drafted. I spent the holidays with them because mum and dad are getting relocated to some unknown village in the middle of nowhere. Little Hangleton, I think." Hermione almost spit out her drink, and her hand rushed to her face.

"Are you alright?"

"I've just remembered an old client my parents had was from there, that's all. What about you Janey, what do your parents do?"

"Oh, my parents work for the Ministry of Magic. I'm a squib though." Janey whispered from the underneath the folds of the Daily Prophet.

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's the only thing I've ever known myself to be. I almost wasn't even allowed to come, but Professor Dumbledore talked Dippet into letting me. I can't take any of the classes that require magic, which leaves Divination, Arithmancy, Herbology, Astronomy, History of Magic, and Care of Magical Creatures. I'm thankful though, I love it here."

Hermione nodded. Emma and Janey went on to tell her about life at Hogwarts and the basic gossips.

"I'm really glad you're here though, Hermione."

"It feels strange without Norah."

"Who's Norah?"

"She used to go to school here. She was muggleborn, like me, and she was a half German, half English Jew. Her family lived in Germany to help take care of a relative, or something like that. She had to escape with her family to the Americas, or else they would have been put in those horrible camps. Norah disappeared around October."

"I hope she's able to switch into the Salem school. She was so gifted. She was a prefect, you know."

"Remind me to owl her later, will you?"

"Yes, of course, we should get everyone to sign a card or something like that. She'll need the support."

For the rest of the day, the trio of new friends talked by the warmth of the fireside in the Badger commons, sipping hot chocolate and discussing everything from muggle literature to politics. Hermione had nearly forgotten Draco until dinner time arrived, and she forced herself to sit down and face the wall. Janey peeked a glance at him from beside her spot next to Hermione.

"Is that him? The blonde one?" Hermione gave a curt nod and glared at the fireplace ahead of her.

"He looks like a ferret." Emma commented with a mouth half-full of food. Hermione burst out in a fit laughter, and it echoed throughout the hall. She felt the eyes of all the Slytherins turn and glare into the back of her frizzy mane, but she could have cared less.

At the end of dinner, as she was walking down the corridor with Emma and Janey, someone called out her name. She turned around to see Jonathan jogging towards her. She waved him over, and Emma gave her a worried glance.

"Do you trust him?"

"Emma, you over think this. He's actually a genuine gentleman, and he treats me with respect despite my lack of magic." Emma waggled her eyebrows at Janey, making her flush.

"Hello Emma. Hi Janey." He grinned and blushed at the sight of Janey, and Hermione could sense Janey growing weak at the knees. "Can I talk with you for a moment, Hermione?"

"I'll catch up with you all in the commons." She and Jonathan watched the two other girls walk away.

"Are you okay?"

"No, not really."

"What happened with you and Draco? He's gotten clammy all of the sudden."

"We got in a bit of a tiff is all."

"You call that a tiff? Hermione, he set the Christmas tree in the commons on fire, for Merlin's sake!"

"Okay, okay! We had a bad row and he refuses to talk to me." Jonathan nodded his head in understanding.

"Does he do this a lot?"

"Throw temper tantrums, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"He used to have a lot more when we were younger. Now they are far and few in between, but extremely dramatic and time-consuming."

"Oh goody." They shared a chuckle. "Well, I'm sure he'll man up soon enough and apologize. And even if it doesn't work out between you two, I still want to be your friend."

"I'd like that too." He suddenly bent down and gave her a bear-hug, leaving her squirming and unable to breath.

"Good night!"

"Night, Hermione. Say goodnight to Janey for me, will you?" Hermione nodded and they went their separate ways.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione anxiously drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her. She was sitting by herself in the back of Merrythought's classroom, waiting for her name to be called to duel. Her classmates were pathetic excuses for duelers-they could barely use a wand. Meanwhile, Draco sat in his prized seat next to Tom in the front and center of the classroom. She longed for the warmth of her new found badger friends. When old Merrythought finally called on her to duel a portly Ravenclaw boy who hardly stood at her height, she inwardly grimaced to herself. As she passed by Draco in the front of the room, they shared a knowing glance. They may no longer be talking, but they both understood that they needed to keep their cover and not stick out.

Merrythought cleared her throat, "Wands at the ready?" Hermione and her opponent both nodded. "You may bow." The pair walked to their separate spots and bowed, never letting their eyes leave each others. "Begin!" Hermione waited for the boy to make his first move.

"Stupefy!" Hermione lazily blocked it.

"Petrificus Totalus!" the other boy narrowly missed her watered down version of the spell. The boy gritted his teeth and forehead became creased in wrinkles in frustration.

"Immobulus!" This time, Hermione let the poorly aimed spell hit her leg and watched as her body froze. She made no attempt to free herself.

"Cornelius is the winner! Well done, both of you." Hermione unfroze herself and quickly moved back to her seat. When she walked past Draco, he gave her a sneer. His little way of saying 'good job', perhaps. It was hard to believe that she had just dueled the future Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

For the rest of class, Hermione let her mind wander as she stared out into the snowy grounds. At the end of class, Professor Merrythought told them to write a three foot long essay on parchment for the end of the week. Frustrated groans echoed through the classroom walls as the students packed up their bags and rushed out of the classroom. On the way out of the classroom, someone touched her shoulder. She turned around, only to see Cornelius.

"Oh, hello."

'Hi." She kept walking out the door and down the corridor. He pulled at her sweater again. "Why did you hold back?" Hermione grew wide-eyed.

"Pardon?"

"I know for a fact that you were holding back. Your eyes were glazed and you didn't even break a sweat." Hermione just shrugged. "Why did you do it?"

"I don't need to win a duel to prove myself as a worthy scholar." Cornelius frowned.

"…I don't understand your reasoning on that, but whatever works best for you, I guess." He had started to leave when he doubled back again. "I'm Cornelius by the way, Cornelius Fudge." He shook hands with her.

"Hermione Anderson. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Hermione and Cornelius separated, and she scurried up to the astronomy tower for her next class.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Professor Pike, the astronomy teacher, was older than Ollivander and Dumbledore combined. His hair was shock white and wild, and had a blown back look, as if he had just put his head near and explosion. His face was lined with wrinkles, giving him the appearance of an old tree that has been freshly cut, with small, winding, and plentiful rings. His strangest feature was his eyes; light lavender glazed with of a sheer gold. He put Dumbledore's twinkling eyes to shame.

This particular astronomy class was fairly small, and consisted of only Hermione, Draco, Tom, and two Ravenclaws.

His voice buzzing like angry bees, Professor Pike told them of myths of the Greek Gods and how they correlated with the constellations. Tom lay back casually in his seat, listening with ease. Draco had his eyes closed, barely listening as he drifted off into a light sleep. The two Ravenclaws were furiously scribbling down notes. Hermione listened keenly, but took no notes; she had read all of the Greek myths when she was young. Since Astronomy was a double class that day, Pike was able to continue his ramblings. The two Ravenclaws eventually realized they were not being tested on this information, and stopped their scribbling. They along with Draco drifted into a deep sleep. Only Tom and Hermione stood awake to listen to the ancient teacher. The classroom was circular, and its windows faced out into the snowy abyss that lay dormant outside.

Somehow, Professor Pike had begun discussing the influence of the Greeks in English literature.

"As some of you may know, Shakespeare's play _A Midnight Summer's Dream_ is set in Greece. Instead of gods, he features fairies in his play, which is frankly ridiculous." Hermione raised an eyebrow and frowned. Tom smirked slyly and stretched his arm out across the back of the empty chair next to him.

"I'll assume you both have at least read or seen the play. I say 'both' because these imbeciles around you have fallen asleep. They think my class is soporific." Pike grumbled. Hermione and Tom nodded in unison.

"It's well known that Shakespeare had a ghost writer working for him. In this instance, that ghost writer was a disgraced pureblood who had to live in the muggle world to make a name for himself." Tom turned around to see Hermione's baffled face, and he shared her confusion.

"The man mimicked Hogwarts in a number of his plays. Think about it; Peeves is Puck in _A Midnight Summer's Dream_. One could even go as far as to draw parallels between other characters and the ghosts here at Hogwarts. I won't name which; it's not my place to spill another's secret."

"You mean the Grey Lady and the Blood Baron's fiasco?" Hermione quietly asked. Tom turned around to look at her again, only this time his eyes were squinted and speculating.

"Precisely, my dear. Although he was a great play writer, his stories are pale in comparison to the stories and legends of Hogwarts."

"What do you mean Professor?"

"You think the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron were the only ones muddled in drama? Bah, I thought you were smarter than that Tom." Tom's face hardened as he went into thought.

"Salazar and Rowena, correct?"

"Oh Merlin, no! Everyone would love to believe that, but no. They were only friends. Think harder." Both students were confused, and it read clearly on their faces.

"Alright, let's take a new approach. I want you to name the winter constellation, and I'll tell you when to stop."

"Canis Major and Canis Minor."

"Gemini."

"Orion."

"Stop. Good, now what constellation is next to Orion?"

"Taurus."

"And what stars are a part of Taurus?"

"Hyades and Pleides."

"And what is Orion's connection to the Pleides sisters? You should know this- it was the first story in my lecture today."

"Orion chased the girls, and Zeus put them in the sky to stop the chase. Orion eventually ended up there too, forever chasing them."

"And from this we can infer that?"

"A man chased a woman-" Hermione started.

"Who did not return his affections." Tom finished.

"Not quite, but that is the essence of the story. Now guess who."

"Godric and Rowena?"

"Godric and Helga?"

"It's the one pairing that you haven't mentioned yet, and it's true no matter how impossible it may seem." It went unsaid amongst the three of them, _Salazar and Helga_. The two teenagers shared various faces of disgust and alarm.

"Would you like me to explain?" Hermione nodded, and Tom was staring out into space, his faced stern with concentration.

"Long before the building of Hogwarts, Salazar was betrothed to Helga for political reasons. They both would have been about your age. Helga, however, was in love with a muggleborn wizard who lived in a neighboring castle. Salazar had a childish crush on her, but he viewed her as more of a prize than anything else. When they meet again many years later, there was those sparks of tension. Helga was never able to marry her love interest due to the marriage laws at the time, and Salazar never was truly interested in having a family. All his relatives had children who carried on his bloodline and name, but he himself never had children. The same goes for Helga. His unrequited love in combination with his giant fight with Godric was enough to drive him away and alienate everyone."

"Professor, as…remarkable as your claim is, what textual evidence do you have supporting this?" Tom asked.

"The most important evidence of all- pensive memories."

"But how would you have gotten those?" Hermione voiced.

"My relative was the first astronomy teacher here, and a friend and advisor to the both of them. They confided them memories in him, and he saved them. They're a bit of a family heir loom. But what's even more important is the fact that my relative was also a seer of sorts. And he gave them a classified prophecy."

"I'm sorry, a what?"

"What's a classified prophecy?"

"It goes off the record from the ministry. It goes something like this:

_The first life they live, their hearts break from other's wounds…they cannot find shelter in each others arms... the gray bear keeps her away… The clouds of yellow and green refuse to blend…The next time they live, they refuse to love each other, but it is destined to be so, as her life is bound to his…green and yellow will swirl together despite the gray bear's protests…the saviors of light have come at last when they vanquish the bear cloud luring over their fates."_

The bells chimed, signaling the end of the class. The two Ravenclaws stirred and left embarrassed. Draco continued sleeping until Professor Pike whacked him over the head with a book and banged on the desk.

"Rise and shine, Mr. d'Arc." Draco woke and yawned like a cat, mouth wide-stretched and tongue sticking out. He got up and started for the door when Hermione called after him, holding his book-bag. He snatched it from her outstretched hand and snarled at her. She had to close her eyes and breathe deeply to stop herself from crying.

"You remind of her, you know."

"Hmm?"

"You remind me of Helga, Ms. Anderson. You have the same smile…the same eyes too." Hermione grew wide-eyed before waving good-bye and rushing down the stairs.

Tom Riddle was about to leave to when Pike stopped him.

"Mr. Riddle?"

"Yes Professor?

"Do me a favor and make sure she's alright. My best bet is that she's hiding at the top of the tower." He nodded.

"Of course sir." And with that, Tom slid out of the door.

_Ta-Dah! More to come, with Tom playing psychologist. Thanks for reading!_


	12. Chapter 11: Friendly Advice

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 11: Friendly Advice**_

Put in some quotes from Batman and Game of Thrones. (The GoT is a close variation). Can you spot them?

The lovely reviewers:

DamnationOfTheDead

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Socrates

natalien

Ethy-Riddle

assi

hateme101

Miridea

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LoonyBin

paulsgirl123

Lost O'Fallon Girl

loves2readalways

Anon

Tallia

Beautiful-Liar13

KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun

TheIronyBehindMyRealName

nhee

Ambition Protector

priestess-yukii18

Dancing-Beards

BelvaRose

And all the nameless guests

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Tom trudged up the snowy steps of the astronomy tower, flakes of snow creating a halo of white on top of his head. As he reached the top of the spiraled staircase, he could see Andersen's figure hunched over and silently weeping. Tom forced himself to take a deep breathe-he would rather fight his basilisk right not. Social interaction wasn't too bad to deal with, all you had to do was lie, but comforting someone who was sobbing out their eyes about their love life was harder to lie about. With his rather stark view on love, he wasn't exactly the best relationship story doctor. Tom gathered his wits and approached her.

"Andersen?" She turned around and blushed, fervently wiping the tears from her reddened face.

"Riddle." He walked closer, and he mentally forced himself to crouch down next to her.

"…I'm not going to bother asking if you're alright, considering the fact that your boyfriend has been treating you like dirt and you're crying." Tom watched her face as she almost grinned, but stopped herself. She took on the outlook of a mournful statue and turned away to face the winter wonderland before them.

"Thank you…it's frustrating when people ask that for the sake of politeness. Why are you up here though?" Tom hesitated for a moment, worried about how to answer.

"Pike asked me to check on you. And I'm curious about your relationship with Draco." She nodded.

"Well, at this point, it seems the relationship is nothing more than some ashes from the bridge he burned."

"Yes, but before? When you were younger?" She chuckled.

"Oh, goblins. We hated each other growing up. He practically tormented me everyday. During third year, I punched him square in the jaw because he was being so rude. But recently, I had to start tutoring him, and I saw that he had a kinder side. His parents had a major influence on his treatment of others. I thought that when we came here, he'd be the same as during the tutoring sessions, but I guess not." Tom had to use all the strength he could not to yawn and laugh at her. What a foolish girl! Honestly, once someone is a certain way, they will always be that way. Such a sappy tale, not even the fairytales would write such filth.

"What were you two fighting about though? He was so agitated that he set the Commons Christmas tree on fire and almost fried a number of first years?"

"Yes, I heard. Draco is prone to temper tantrums the size of Diagon Alley. Honestly, he can be very childish in that sense. He originally got pissy because I danced with Jonathan, but then he stole a present, and he went about insulting me and such. It's a very silly thing, I don't know why I'm crying so much about it."

"I'm no expert on love: I have no experience in the matter, and nor do I want to. But I observe people frequently, and I have often observed that in the best pairings, there is little conflict. When it is, the conflict is major, but still. They tend to smile a lot too. My point is your loved ones shouldn't be bringing you so much pain." She sighed and shook her head.

"You make a good point, Riddle, but I have to disagree. Love is an emotion, and it often centers on extremities; points of extreme happiness, points of extreme sorrow. And it can be a scary notion, that you're giving so much of yourself to one person and that you may not have anything returned or that you lose that part of yourself." Tom's elegant brow furrowed in distaste.

"Then why even bother? It doesn't make sense."

"That's all apart of it. It's a game. You don't always win. But you keep playing because the reward is greater than the any of the downsides." Andersen stood up and gripped the railing. Tom slowly stood and joined her. She gestured over to two birds swirling around together in flight. He black robe sleeve slipped down a little, showing her white sleeved shirt. Through the gossamer fabric, Tom could make out to letters. _M. U._

"Andersen?" She turned to him, and he pointed down at her sleeve. Her face turned as white as her shirt and she quickly pulled down her robe sleeve. He raised an eyebrow, as if to say, _Are you going to explain?_ She returned a vacant glare. He knew what the word on her arm was, mudblood. "Who did it?" She wrapped her other hand around the scar, like that would make it disappear.

"A terrible woman. Draco's aunt actually. She's one of those who believe that even if you're a half-blood, you aren't good enough. The knife was cursed, so I'm stuck with this." Tom wasn't expecting that. Draco's aunt? And she still wants to date him? _She must be loony._

"And after all that he's done, he and his family both, you still waste your time trying to date him?"

"I saw something good, and I thought.."

"…what? That you could save him?" She nodded. "Andersen, there are certain people in this world beyond salvation. People that are so far from moral grounds that they aren't even human anymore. People who just want to watch the world burn. And _we_ don't want to be saved." She snapped her head around and gave him an astonished look. "Draco and I are kindred devils in a world of kind people like yourself."

She stuttered, confused by his bluntness. "Bu…he…how?"

"I can see it when I look at him. There's a particular fire to his eyes that says it all. I'm very familiar with it; I see it everyday when I look in the mirror. I look in the mirror and see a body and name identical to that of a dead man. A body and name I wish to be rid of. I tell myself how I'll overcome all of it, and how those who would harm me or my cause will die screaming."

She looked a little startled, but she was generally placid. She nervously tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because when I look at you, I see a good person. A hero. A savior. The kind of person who shouldn't mingle with the soulless, but tries to help them anyway. I'm giving you fair warning: Draco won't change. It's an uphill battle you'll lose every time, no matter how hard you try. You'll be so wounded, perhaps on the verge of depression. You'll take it as a sign that _you_ aren't good enough, even though it's him that isn't good enough. I'm telling you because no one should be hurt like that."

She stood silently for a moment, absorbing all this new information in. "Half blood with a muggle father you despise?" She looked over at him to see his reaction. His face scrunched into a ball of fury, and his rainbow eyes turned an eerie maroon as they turned on her.

"How dare you even-" Andersen cut him off.

"I dare ask. It's only fair after all the prying you've been doing."

"Yes." It came out as a searing hiss. She nodded and began to step away from the railing.

"I should get going-it's almost time for dinner.

"The information you stole-"

"I didn't steal anything, thank you very much!"

"It won't leave this room?"

"As long as my secret doesn't wander off with you, yes."

"Agreed." He offered out his hand, and she shook it after a moment's hesitation. They pair began to walk down the flight of stairs, not realizing their speedy footsteps were in sync.

"What did you think of the 'classified prophecy' that Pike mentioned?" Hermione asked.

"Impossible. And your thoughts?"

"I believe that the incenses his room have finally killed all his brain cells." They both laughed, but then Tom abruptly stopped.

"What are brain cells?"

"Oh, um. They are neurons, which receive and transport electro-chemical signals throughout the body and help run the brain, according to muggle anatomy."

"That's odd. They have such strange ways of analyzing things, don't you think?" They had reached the Great Hall, and all the students were trickling in.

"I believe this is were we part ways, Mr. Riddle."

"Enjoy your night, Andersen." She was about to walk away when he lightly grabbed her shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Just remember what I said. He isn't worth the heartache." Hermione still felt herself shivering long after he had walked away and sat down at the snake table.

**Ta-dah! Sorry, this wasn't very long. More to come over the incoming Thanksgiving Break hopefully. Cross your fingers!**


	13. Chapter 12: Intervention

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 12: Intervention**_

The lovely reviewers of the last chapter:

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I know I've written Ron in a negative light. Please don't come after me with pitchforks. This story isn't anti-Ron, I promise. He's just not my favorite character, and I think he and Hermione aren't a good fit, hence the fact that you are in the wonderful and addictive Tomione section.

Happy Holidays to you all!

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Harry's fingers had grown numb from the continuous page turning he had done for the past two days straight. Ginny, Luna, and Harry had been scouring the restricted section nonstop for the past two days, only stopping for short bathroom breaks, naps, and eating. Ron had tried to help, but he would end up falling asleep, so instead he snuck into the kitchens to steal food for them. As usual, Ron ate most of the food he brought.

"Harry, we aren't getting anywhere with this." Ron whined for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Maybe we would if you helped us Ronald." Ginny snapped. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and her usually styled hair was frizzy and mangled.

"Ron has a point," Luna took a moment to yawn. "We've checked every book in the library-there is nothing on parselmagic here."

"Where else can we look?" Ginny rubbed her eyes.

"Let's face it-this is pointless. We'll never find anything." Ron ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"Find what, exactly, Mr. Weasely?" The four teenagers turned around to find an irritated Professor McGonagall standing behind them, arms crossed. All of them couldn't give a verbal response, only showing their gawking mouths.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice the fact that the Headgirl, who has only missed class because of accident with you two," she said pointing to Ron and Harry, "is now missing?" The kids continued to stare slack jawed. "Close your mouth Potter, it really doesn't suit you." Harry proceeded to quickly close his mouth.

"Minerva, this isn't what it looks like."

"Oh, don't you 'Minerva' me, Miss Weasely. Now, **where** is Miss Granger?"

"We found out about her and Draco." Ron stood up from his chair and placed his hands firmly on the table. McGonagall quickly realized that Harry and Ron had done something.

"What did you do?"

"Um, well, I've sorta been teaching Ron Parseltongue to strengthen his résumé for Aurors." McGonagall's eyes widened in fear and then slanted into suspicion.

"And?"

"And he cast the wrong thing, and now we think that she might have been moved back to the 40's with Riddle." McGonagall grabbed a book and whapped Ron over the head, and then whapped Harry too.

"Why is it always you two who you drag Miss Granger into trouble? My own house consists of idiot heroes." Minerva covered her forehead with one hand and breathed deeply. "Well, the one thing Mr. Weasely did get right is that you won't find the answer here."

"See? I told you, this is hopeless." Ron echoed.

"Ron, are you listening to yourself? How could you give up on her so quickly? When **you** abandoned us in the woods during the horcrux hunt, she left things behind so you could find your way back to us. She has always been there for us and had our backs, and it's the least we could to bring her back. We are not going to give up on finding her." Harry slammed angry fist done on a book, with Ginny patted his other hand. The book flew open, and a papery face appeared.

"Leave it you!" Harry looked down to face the furious book.

"Sorry mate."

"You better solve this, Mr. Potter, or else."

"Professor, I was wondering… could Ron and I leave? I think we need to look abroad for the answer. From what I know, Parseltongue originated in Egypt, so I think we need to find the Library of Alexandria."

"Harry, as in not finish?" Ron looked flabbergasted.

"Yeah mate. School was never our thing. It was inevitable we were never going to graduate. Plus, we already have all the skills we need."

"I'm going too." Ginny placed her hands on top of Harry's.

"I'll go too." Luna straightened herself in her chair and her eyes had a dreamy look about them.

"It is Potter and Mr. Weasely's fault, and they are the only ones who can right this situation. Girls, you will stay here and that is final." Ginny's face matched her fiery hair, and Luna pouted.

"Ginny, go. It's okay." Harry rubbed her knuckles.

"Promise me Harry: you will bring my best friend back." Ginny's eyes burned with anger and tears.

"I promise on Dumbledore's grave, Gin. I will do everything within my power to bring Hermione home." Harry wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Let's leave Ginny. They have work to do." Ginny linked arms with Luna and the pair walked away.

"Mr. Potter, it would be best if you grabbed a few things for your journey. That cloak of yours would be a mighty good idea. Mr. Weasely, pack a few of your brother's tricks, especially the one you used on the first year Slytherins. Meet me in my office in an hour." McGonagall turned on her heel and left the pair in silence. Harry got up to leave too, but Ron stopped him.

"Harry?" He turned around to face his best friend.

"What Ron?"

"What if we can't get her back here?" He ran a hand through his hair.

"We'll find a way." Ron grabbed a mushy apple from the table and went to join Harry. Behind them, the books fumed. They magically floated to the appropriate places on the shelves in the restricted section.

"Take your stinky grub with you!"

"My pages, they're ruined!"

"What a bunch of tosser!"

"Do you think they'll find the girl?"

"Nah."

"Ten galleons says they do."

"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna get the galleons!"

"Yeah, way to be a bloody idiot."

A chained book shook its chains in fury. "The lot of you need to shut it!" Fearing the chained book's wrath, the others went silent for a bit. While some of the books snored, a few on the back shelf whispered to each other again in hushed tones.

"I hate that guy?"

"Who? Chains?"

"Yeah. He's such a wanker."

"I would be too if I was locked up like that."

"Do you think that the girl's being sent back is a part of the prophecy?"

"Which one are you talking about?"

"The classified Pike prophecy."

"Oh, you mean the one that's all like: _The first life they live, their hearts break from other's wounds…they cannot find shelter in each others arms... the gray bear keeps her away… The clouds of yellow and green refuse to blend…The next time they live, they refuse to love each other, but it is destined to be so, as her life is bound to his…green and yellow will swirl together despite the gray bear's protests…the saviors of light have come at last when they vanquish the bear cloud luring over their fates_. That one, right?"

"Yeah that one. Do you think she's the savior?"

"I don't know."

Chains rattled again, scaring the whispering books.

"Stop gossiping and shut it!"

"Sorry" the books said in unison.

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Harry and Ron stood side by side outside the statue guarding the staircase to McGonagall's office.

"Checkmate." The staircase spiraled open for the pair to climb. Once they reached the room, they were met by an emotional group of teachers. They received somber looks from everyone.

"Are you two ready?" The boys nodded. "Good. I have contacted the Minister of Magic in Egypt, so he knows you will be arriving. Now, I must warn you both: the Library of Alexandria houses ancient magic, older than the Founders. It's a rumored to be a magical labyrinth of sorts. Many have tried to find it, but only a few have succeeded in doing so, and even fewer have managed to escape it's clutches." Ron gulped.

"This is going to be much harder than battling the Dark Lord, but I have every faith in you both."

"We'll bring her back Minerva, I promise." McGonagall placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I can only hope." Harry nodded, and turned to grab a handful of floo-powder from the fireplace ledge. He stepped in, and shouted their destination, vanishing in a fiery green cloud. Ron followed suit, but turned back to face his teachers again.

"I'll contact your family about your whereabouts, Weasely, don't worry." McGonagall gave him a reassuring look. Ron stepped into the fireplace, shouted his destination with a pinch of floo-powder thrown in, and he too vanished into a green fire.


	14. Chapter 13: Seasonal Shift

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 13: Seasonal Shift**_

The lovely reviewers of the last chapter:

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Through all of potions class that day, Professor Slughorn had lectured his advanced potions class on the possibilities available to them through continuing to pursue potions. As he dismissed the class, he asked Hermione to stay behind.

"Hermione…" Professor Slughorn began.

"Yes Professor?"

"I've read your essays, and I must say, I've thoroughly enjoyed them. However, I'm concerned about your participation in my class."

"I'm sorry if I've disappointed you sir." Hermione bent her head down.

"I just hate to see such raw talent wasted. I've had a few students like you over the past years-powerful and intelligent individuals too shy to speak up." Hermione nodded. _Not shy, just hesitant to stick out like a sore thumb and have trouble fall into my lap_ she thought to herself.

"In class tomorrow, I'm going to be displaying a few unique potions-you've just written a wonderful essay about one of them. My hope is that you'll talk to the class about it tomorrow." Slughorn genuinely smiled at her, and she couldn't help but give the man a hopeful little smile back. "It's about Tom had someone to compete with." The smile slipped off her face, and he patted her hand. Hermione sped out of the room as fast as her feet could take her.

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Hermione looked up from her notes to see a when she heard the small fluttering of pages softly in her ear. She turned her head to see a small paper lotus hovering over her shoulder. She whipped her head around, but couldn't find the perpetrator. It wasn't until she saw a figure cruising by the Arithmancy window that it dawned on her. _Jonathan_.

For the past few days, Jonathan had been sending Janey notes. Hermione looked towards the cracked open window again, and was met face to face with Jonathan on his _Nimbus 1950_ looking a bit embarrassed. He made a movement to lightly rap on the glass, but he stopped when he saw the professor turning around from the board. He ducked down on his broom, leaving only his eyes and the top of his head visible. When the professor turned back around to write on the chalk board, he rose back up to his original spot. He ran a hand through his hair and blushed. He pointed a finger at the letter and then nodded in Janey's direction a few desks down from Hermione. She nodded in understanding. She returned to her notes, but with her wand in her left hand, she nonverbally sent the letter zooming through the feet of her classmates and into Janey's satchel bag.

She sneaked a peak at Jonathan, who gave her a big thumbs up, a grin from ear to ear on his elated face. She gave him a knowing smirk, silently closing the window as the lad fly off with a few spirals in triumph. Hermione turned back to Janey, who had been secretly watching the whole affair. Her left arm propped her head on the desk, but it also made the perfect window for seeing her crush. Hermione raised one eyebrow and Janey responded with a dark pink blush spreading across her face. Janey, without looking, reached for the flowery correspondence and cradled it in her lap. Hermione paid attention for the rest of class, a total of five minutes, but Emma, on the opposite side of the room, was engrossed by the possible contents of her friend's letter.

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At the end of class, Hermione carefully packed her things, only to be knocked into by Draco as he rushed through the aisle way to catch up with Tom. He looked down at her smaller form, realizing who he had actually bumped into. "Sorry" he muttered out of the side of his mouth, and then he sped away with a terrible brooding look on his face. As she bent down to pick up the papers, she saw a pair of men's shoes level to her eyes. The shoes were soon replaced a boy's face. His dark hair hung thick across his forehead, and he had the slightest bit of stubble on his neck. A pair of deep brown eyes met hers. The boy quietly handed her back her papers.

"Thank you." He nodded his head vigorously and blushed. He got up and began to walk away, but Hermione stopped him. "What's your name?" The boy turned back, surprised.

"I'm Emmet." His left hand ruffled the back of his head and he gripped the strap of his shoulder bag a little tighter. Hermione crammed her things back into her book bag before striding over to him.

"I'm Hermione." She offered out her hand, and he politely shook it. They began to walk out the door together, side by side. "So, you're a Ravenclaw?"

"Yeah," the boy gave a small smile, "I like books."

"Do you have a favorite?" He shook his head.

"I've read too many that I like. I can't choose, really." The pair walked out of the classroom and into the bustling corridor, crammed pack with students heading to their favorite hangout spots before dinner. To the side, seating on a bench, were Emma and Janey, waiting for Hermione. Once they saw her, they waved, gesturing for her and Emmet to join them.

"Hello Emmet!" Janey cheerily greeted. Emma wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"We need to get you out of the library more often-we barely see you now and days!" Emmet shrugged his shoulders. "Well, are you still on for all of us getting together at Hogsmeade this weekend?" He nodded his head. "Good, we'll see you there, then. And make sure that Marcus doesn't bring his fireworks." Emmet chuckled at this.

"I'll let you get going; I know that Nicolas and Marcus are waiting on you." She tilted her head to two boys further down the corridor, eagerly looking for their friend. The taller of the two was sitting on the shoulders of the other, which struck Hermione as odd. The sitter, a tall and wiry figure, had a spiky black hair and beady, unnerving black eyes. He appeared to be a brooding yet eccentric boy. The other was a boy with light brown hair, horn-rimmed glasses, and a toothy grin.

"See ya." He began to walk away, but turned around. "Nice meeting you Hermione." She waved goodbye. The minute his back had turned, Emma eagerly grabbed Janey's arm.

"So, what's it say? Spill!" Janey's blush deepened as she reached for the letter in her robe pocket. With trembling fingers, she tried to hold on to the note as she read it aloud.

_Dearest Jane,_

_My awkwardness only becomes more awkward when I write you. However, your have been very kind and tolerant of my inability to emote, and I thank you for that. If you want to, would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend? If yes, please meet me at the Greenhouses at 4 o'clock. If no, please throw out this letter under the bench I presume you are sitting by with Emma and Hermione outside of the classroom. There will be no bitterness or hard feelings if you are unwilling to attend._

_ Fondly,_

_Jonathan_

"That was so sweet!" Emma cooed.

"He's a sweet boy." Janey bent her head down to hide her blush.

"If only he wasn't a snake." Janey sadly nodded, agreeing with what Emma had said. Hermione tried to lighten the mood.

"So, are you going to say yes?" Janey vigorously nodded her head and grinned. Something registered in her brain, and her face grew worried.

"What time is it?" Emma checked her muggle wristwatch.

"Eh, about 4." Janey's mouth formed a perfect 'o'.

"Willyouwatchmythings? I'm late!" She thrust her things into Emma's arms and ran down the corridor. Her two friends giggled.

"How long as she liked him?"

'Oh, ages! She's usually a quiet person, but when you get her chattering, she talks about three things: plants, Jane Austen, and Jonathan."

"He's infatuated with her too. His eyes light up every time he sees her."

"I know Jon's a perfectly nice boy, but even though she's a pureblood, his family will never let them get together because of her lack of magic."

"Maybe he'll be different and break the cycle."

"Yeah, maybe…"

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Later that night, after dinner, Draco lurked in the shadows of the east wing, waiting for Jonathan to walk by. Once he was within a foot away from Draco, his arm reached out and grabbed Jonathan's robe sleeve, pulling him into the darkness. Draco quickly cast a silencing charm around the small enclave they were huddled in. "What th-" Jonathan started, but Draco cut him off by gripping his jaw.

"What did I tell you before? Huh? Or did it not register through that thick skull of yours?" Jonathan tried to speak, but it was difficult to do when his teeth were clamped together. "What was that, worm?" Draco squeezed Jonathan's jaw tighter, turning his face Gryffindor scarlet. Jonathan tried to speak again, but found he couldn't. "**Answer me**!" Draco screamed in the older boy's face. Suddenly, Draco's arm was on fire, and he promptly let go of Jonathan. And within the next instant, Draco's arm no longer was ablaze.

"Was that you?" Draco jabbed Jonathan's gut.

"No, I swear." Jonathan lifted his hands up defensively.

Draco leaned in and whispered, "We're being watched. Let's relocate, shall we?" Draco swung his arm around Jonathan's shoulder, and Jonathan mimicked Draco's friendly action. The pair walked down the hallway like they were the best of friends, and continued doing this until they reached another enclave closer to their dorms. The two boys quickly switched into their previous conversation as easily as they had left it.

Jonathan leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and Draco leaned against the other wall like a spider waiting for a fly. "You have no reason to attack me. I haven't interfered in your relationship with Hermione in any manner. She's my friend, and that's all."

"Oh really? Then why were you flying by the window in class today, blatantly flirting with her?"

"I tried to send a note to someone, but I couldn't get it through the window properly. And she was being kind and helped me deliver the message."

"Why were you sending a message to someone? Who was it? Why were you incapable of sending the message without her help?"

"It doesn't concern you who it was to or why. Like I said, I was struggling to send it through the classroom. Professor Redwing enchanted the room to prevent outside distractions. I could get the note in, but not to its intended location."

"You're going to tell me who," Draco discreetly jabbed his wand into Jonathan's gut, "or else."

"Jane Diggory."

Draco sneered. "Why were you messaging that squib?"

"Don't call her that!" Jonathan tried to wiggle free, but Draco used his left hand to shove the older boy's shoulder into the brick wall to keep him still. 

"Ah, is someone in love?"

"No..." Jonathan nervously disavowed.

"You're a horrible liar…you're not much of a snake, are you?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "A love sick boy, yes. But a true Slytherin? For Salazar's sake, Hermione has more cunning and ambition than you do." Jonathan did nothing to deny this, but he hissed at the insult. Jonathan's eyes slanted and his mouth curled into a snarl, making him look menacingly evil. "Ah, there is the malevolence I've been looking for. Now, listen to me: I believe that you aren't after Hermione. But you need to pull your head out of your arse."

"Pardon me, but what did you just tell me to do?"

"I'm telling you to stop being an ignorant fool and get over her. Love only provides obstacles on the path to success."

"Oh, that's rich." Jonathan laughed. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? You've been the one obsessing over Hermione like a dragon near a pile of gold. That's the entire reason why you pulled me over." Jonathan moved towards Draco, but Draco stood his ground. He was forced to look up a little to keep eye contact. "Now, _you_ listen to me. I'm a prefect, Quidditch captain and seeker. I'm well-respected and adored by all. You're nothing but the new kid. I could report you and have you in detention for the rest of the year with Pike."

"You won't though. You'd never want to lose house points."

"That's correct." Jonathan leaned in so his face met Draco's. "I refused to have you cripple this House because of your lack of unity. So I'm letting you off with a warning-never insult me or Jane again. Understood?"

"What's in it for me?"

"No detention with the ever boring Pike, no hostility from other housemates, and a possible chance at winning Hermione back." Draco's ears perked up, and Jonathan leaned back against his wall, letting the information sink in.

"How?"

"Ah-ah-ah, let's not get irrational. I never said I would help you. I said there was a possibility of you wooing her back. I'll be glad to help you do it, but it has to be on my terms. Are we clear?" Jonathan offered out his hand.

"Crystal." Draco shook Jonathan's hand and immediately dropped it. "But when? How?"

"Whenever I feel like it. Mr. d'Arc, you have just made a deal with an Avery. We keep our word, but anything we do is always controlled by us and only us. I will help you when I feel like it and when the time is right."

"Of course." Draco turned to leave, but Jonathan grabbed his arm and pulled him back for a moment.

"But, a word of caution. Don't assume that she'll accept your advances." Draco snarled and strode out of the enclave. Jonathan let out a sigh and waited. Tom suddenly appeared next to him, having taking off the disillusion spell.

"Well handled, Avery." The pair began walking down the hallway together.

"I don't think he's ready to join, Riddle."

"What makes you think that?" Jonathan gave him a snarky look and rolled his eyes. Tom smirked. They both knew exactly what the boy's problem was: the Andersen girl. Tom knew that Draco wasn't ready to join their group, but he wasn't ever going to admit that to Jonathan. "We'll see in due time, won't we?"

"I suppose. I just hope she isn't stupid enough to take him back."

"Oh, she won't." Tom smiled to himself.

"Are you volunteering yourself as her new distraction?" Tom snorted at that.

"Of course not, don't be thick. No, Cornelius has his eye on her."

"Cornelius…Cornelius, where have I heard that name before?"

"Cornelius Fudge, 6th year Ravenclaw, and 5th in my class."

"Oh, Fudgie! The chubby lad!"

"Yes him. Though from the look of things in class today, Emmet also appears smitten with her." Jonathan gave him a look of confusion. "Emmet Bones, 6th year Ravenclaw, prefect, 2nd in my class."

"He sounds familiar."

"My point is that Hermione has plenty of fish to catch in the pond now-she doesn't have to settle for him. He'll realize that soon, and then he'll move on to bigger things."

"If he hurts her…" Jonathan clenched his fists.

"He wouldn't dare, and even if he did, she could easily defend herself. She isn't stupid, you know."

"_**I**_ know that, but you were the one complaining that she lacks true dueling skills." Tom shook his head.

"She doesn't lack the skill, she's hiding it."

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

In Potions class the next day, Slughorn gathered his advanced 6th year class around three small potions in the front of the room. "Now class, here before us, I have three very special potions. Can anyone name the first two potions for me?" Tom didn't even bother to raise his hand; he never had to unless he was in Dumbledore's class. It was expected of him from all the teachers to simply volunteer the answers.

"The first is Veritaserum. It's a colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to speak the truth." Tom clasped his hands behind his back as he coolly glanced over at the second potion. "The next one is Polyjuice Potion. It's easily recognizable due to its rough texture, mudlike and bubbling look, and foul stench. And the third is-"

"Thank you for that Tom. But I would like Hermione to answer the next question-she wrote a beautiful essay on it." _Slughorn has only ever called my essays beautiful_ Tom thought in shock. "Miss Andersen, please enlighten us with your wisdom." Tom turned to listen to his classmate with a mixture of anticipation, anger, and curiosity.

"The last potion is-"

"Speak up a bit, Miss Andersen. I want everyone to hear you." Hermione cleared her throat and watched as thirteen pairs of eyes turned to face her in the back of the room.

"The last potion is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world. It doesn't create true love, but it creates a strong obsession for the potioneer in the victim. Because of this, it's also one of the most dangerous potions known. It can be recognized by its mother-of-pearl sheen and characteristic spiraling steam. Supposedly, it smells differently to each person based upon what attracts them." Hermione had to bite her cheek to prevent herself from admitting what she smelt. As per usual, she smelt freshly mowed grass and new parchment. What worried her more than that was that she no longer smelled Ron's shampoo. It had been replaced with this strange musky scent she recognized, but couldn't place.

"In addition to that, based on some new resources I've been pouring through, there is a running theory that Salazar Slytherin was born under a marriage brought about through a very potent Amortentia. Based upon the portraits of Salazar, we know he had almost black eyes when he was older, but based on primary resources-diaries and records from the time-he apparently had kaleidoscope eyes. The color would change based upon who he was talking to, and this allowed him to influence the person based on how willing they were to listen. This could explain his rise to power amongst the Purebloods despite the fact that when he grew up in Fen, his parents were on the edge of poverty." She let her words sink in for a moment. Her classmates gazed at her in awe, marveled at the information. Tom, on the other hand, was torn between asking her for more information or choking her.

Hermione nervously tucked a loose curl behind her ear and took a deep breath before continuing. "There's another theory that the Amortentia, in combination with his Egyptian roots, is what allowed him to have such a powerful command of Parseltongue." Hermione noticed that she was getting off track, and switched back to the topic at hand. "The strength of Amortentia depends on how long it brews. Of course, the potion will eventually wear off, but the process can be quickened with a remedy. However, the obsession and false love can be reinforced with consistent intake of the potion. There have never been any certified reports of children born under the effects of the potion, but it is known to have happened. The effects on the child would depend upon potency. The only true known side effect for the child is that they are immune to the potion." Hermione sighed in relief. A few students clapped in admiration. Slughorn was beaming at her from his spot by the table.

"Brilliant, Miss Andersen, absolutely brilliant! I wish I had on you earlier in the term because that was simply enthralling!" Hermione felt her cheeks turned red and she tilted her down. "Oh no, my dear, don't get embarrassed. Your talent shouldn't be hidden away, but shown on display instead! Why, I'd dare say that if you stopped holding yourself back, you'd be the brightest witch of this age!" Hermione grew wide-eyed at the tremendous compliment. Tom watched intently as Hermione's cheeks flushed.

"Professor, what's in that last cauldron behind you?" A Gryffindor asked.

"Oh, oh, that's Felix Felicis. You'll be reading about that tonight in your textbooks in Chapter 12, as well as the Drought of Living Death." Due to the short class period, the bell rang, and students rushed to leave for lunch. "Make sure you all do the reading!"

Professor Slughorn pulled Tom aside before he could exit the classroom. "Tom, my boy, please don't be jealous of my praise for her."

"Professor, I am glad to share the spotlight for once. She deserves it."

Slughorn nodded in thought. "She strikes me as an insecure girl, and she needs all the support she can get. I think no lesser of you, please know that."

"Of course, Professor. I understand completely."

"Thank you for your understanding. More than anything, I'm thrilled for you." Slughorn clapped him on the shoulder. "For once in your life, you may have a true peer! Someone to converse with on politics and philosophy and literature! I've always worried for you, Tom. I know you have plenty of wonderful friends, but none of them had her spark, her vitality, her enthusiasm!" Slughorn now was grasping both of Tom's shoulders. Tom must have looked startled, because Slughorn continued to babble. "I'm not implying you have to date her-you don't even have to be friends! Just…" Slughorn went quiet for a moment as he thought of what to say. "…Just remember that people like her are rare in life; don't let them slip away, my boy." Tom nodded, and Slughorn finally let go of Tom's shoulders so he could leave.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Word had spread quickly throughout the Houses about Hermione. While she was at the Library during her free period, Fudge cornered her by a bookshelf as she was walking in with a pile of books for some light-reading.

"What you said in class today was superb." He gave her a toothy grin.

"Thank you." Hermione flatly replied.

"You know, I've never met a girl like you." He leaned against the shelf so he could face her, and she backed up into the table slightly to keep him a safe distance away.

"Oh, really?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Tom, who was looking for books on the other side of the shelf, let himself smirk.

"Yes," Fudge continued. "Many girls have beauty. Some girls have brains. But never in all my years have I seen a combination of both, of course, until I met you." Fudge moved closer to her, but she skirted around the table and turned to walk away.

"That's nice." _He's worse than McLaggen _Hermione thought in anguish. He bustled over to her with outstretched arms.

"Here, let me carry your books for you." She walked a bit faster.

"Thank you, but no thank you. I can carry my own books."

"Ah, you're one of those feminists broads, aren't you?" Fudge sighed angrily.

"This isn't my area of expertise, but I do know one thing. When you're trying to talk to someone new in a flirtatious manner, don't insult them." She lifted her chin and strode away to a table in the far back of the library, leaving Cornelius fuming and red. Tom was amused by the scene, but slightly annoyed at the same time. _Fudge had made it impossible for Andersen to like him, which meant Draco had less people to compete with._ However, in the distance, Tom heard Anderson loudly set her books down at a table in the far book, as well as the rustling of papers. He silently maneuvered his way through the bookshelves to watch the next scene.

Hermione's books had knocked over a few of Emmet's notes when she had set them down. He looked up, startled. His finger tips were covered with ink, and his forehead was smudged from where he had rested his head in his hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry Emmet." She bent down to pick up his things and handed them back to him. He took them gingerly and gave her a soft smile.

"It's alright." He went back to scribbling away.

"May I join you?" He looked back up from his notes again. He nodded and dived right back into his work. She opened one of her books and inhaled the smell of the pages. They sat in silence for a while until Emmet spoke up.

"Everyone was really impressed with what you said in Potions class today." She looked up from her book and grinned.

"Thanks." She thought he would stop there, but the boy kept talking.

"It's good to have someone else talking for a change." He began to put his notes away.

"What do you mean?" He leaned in and gestured for her to do so too.

"Well, Tom has free reign over speech in every class except Transfiguration." Emmet whispered.

"That doesn't make sense though. You're quite intelligent. For Merlin's sake, you're second in the class!" Emmet raised a finger to his lips, trying to keep her quiet.

"I don't like public speaking all that much. It's fine, he can say it better and with more information anyway."

"Why is it different in Transfiguration?"

"Dumbledore likes to mix things up. He calls on everyone. It's the only class I've seen Tom had to raise his hand in since first year. To be honest with you, I don't think he likes Tom."

Hermione was confused. From what Harry had said, Dumbledore tried to help Tom, but still be a fair teacher. "That's odd." 

"Yes, very odd indeed. Tom's a good kid too, so it really doesn't make much sense." Hermione decided not to comment on that particular topic. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that you did well today." Emmet stood to leave and shouldered his bag.

"Well, thank you Emmet. I'll see you later." Emmet nodded and started to walk away when he raced back to her.

"Hey, you're going to Hogsmeade this weekend with the rest of the gang, right?" Hermione shook her head and frowned.

"No, I can't. The school requires each student to have parent or guardian consent, and I have neither." Emmet nodded his head in understanding. Emma had told him all about Hermione's parents, so he knew about her situation.

"You'll be sorely missed. Would you like me to get you anything while we're there?" She shook her head again. "Alright, I'll see you later then." They waved goodbye and he left.

Alone again, Hermione switched to the book she had been yearning to read, _Egyptian Runes and Their Effect on Modern Magick_. The book had been banned from Hogwarts by the time she first went there in the '90s. The book was technically banned now too, but the Room of Requirement had provided her with its only copy. She had just settled in when Tom walked up to her table. He glanced at her book before sitting on the edge of it.

"Hello Riddle." She greeted without looking up from her book.

"Hello Andersen." He stared at her for a long time, analyzing every part of her. He noticed how she turned the pages, with the pads of her thumb and forefinger. He noticed the stray curls popping out of her bun. He noticed that the more he stared, the more goose bumps appeared on her skin.

Hermione knew he was watching her, and it was an unnerving feeling. It was as if his eyes were boring into her soul. She finally broke the numbing silence by closing her book and looking up at him. "Can I help you?"

"Perhaps…" Tom grinned down at her. She tried her best not to squirm. His eyes stayed in their melting swirl, not settling on one color. "Has is it you came to know so much on Amortentia?"

"Pike has been giving me records and journal entries to read on it. He may be crazy, but I doubt that he could have falsified those documents. I've had to translate a good portion of them because they're in Olde English or Gaelic Runes."

"Did you read anything else?" She simply nodded her head. "Well, I know it isn't in this library-I've scoured every nook and cranny for information on potions and such." _Nice way to avoid your attachment to Amortentia_ Hermione sarcastically thought. "So the real question is: where are you getting the books?" Hermione cocked her head to one side, tempted to not answer. She knew that she would have to tell him eventually, but she decided to draw it out and make him work for the answer.

"Why do you care about the books?"

"Books contain knowledge, and knowledge is power."

"But why do you need the books I've read? Surely you could have Slughorn order some for you, since you are his token trophy."

"I am no man's trophy."

"Everyone is a trophy or a prize for Slughorn, there's no denying it." Tom let out an exasperated sigh, and he resigned to a different tactic.

"Slughorn may have the connection, but he wouldn't know where to begin. You, on the other hand, have more knowledge on the topic than him."

"Flattery doesn't go far with me, Riddle." Riddle frowned down at her. "However, honesty does. So, you can tell me the real reason why you want the books and I'll gladly give you there location, or you can lie and I won't tell you."

"That's an interesting proposition…how will you know whether or not I'm lying?"

"Well, Riddle, I already know exactly why you want them. The point of this exercise is to get you to admit it."

"Oh! That's charming. And how is it you know? Are you a seer or a palm reader?" Tom laughed.

"I know because of your eyes." Tom grew wide-eyed, but quickly narrowed them before averting his gaze. Hermione stood up to stand face to face with him. "I know because of your ring." Subconsciously, he covered his right hand over his left hand to protect the ring. "I know because the younger children walk around you in awe and horror. The stupid ones say it aloud. 'He's the Heir of Slytherin'. I know because you were the only one in class today who didn't sniff the Amortentia as it wafted through the air." Tom switched his glare back to her face, and a menacing snarl broke through his typically calm mask. She leaned in closer and whispered in his ear. "And it all makes sense because you're trying to learn how your mum did it; how she got the muggle father you hate so much. You're trying to learn more about yourself." She smiled a little, which set Tom on edge. He was the one who was supposed to be in control of the situation, not her.

"So, tell me, did I cover everything?"

"Yes." Tom hissed.

"Good." She grabbed her book and left the others on the table, preparing to leave. Tom grabbed her wrists and turned her to face him.

"I kept up my end of the proposition. Now, tell me where they are." She raised an eyebrow.

"I'll tell you when you let go of my wrists." He dropped them like they were boiling lava. "I don't like owing debts. You helped me out with Peeves, so I techinically owe you. Once I tell you, we're even, got it?" He nodded solemnly. She leaned in again, this time she was so close that her mouth was mere millimeters away from his ear. Hermione whispered "The Room of Requirement. I found it last weekend when everybody was playing outside in the snow. It's on the first floor by the girls' bathroom. You should know exactly where it is." Tom's breathe caught in his throat. _Myrtle and the Chamber._ "You can probably drop in when everyone is at Hogsmeade." She backed away and began walking away. Tom called after her.

"Will I see you there?" She turned her head around and rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Where else would I be?" Once she had left the library, Tom finally released the air he had been holding in his chest since he leaned in. Slughorn had been right; she certainly did have something special. She could at least carry a conversation, unlike Walburga. And it seemed this innocent kitty had claws. With how she turned the discussion in her favor? Oh yes, she would be a very interesting specimen for debate. As much as he had found their tiff fun, he was more irritated than anything else. _She was supposed to go to Hogsmeade with her friends or on a date_. Tom remembered what Jonathan had said earlier, which caused him to shudder. He hated when Jonathan proved him wrong. _I'm her new distraction_ he thought angrily. _But it's the only way I can get the books on Salazar and Amortentia. I can't have her knowing more than me! _

**AN: Hello! I'm sorry I haven't posted for so long *hits head in a Dobby fashion* To make up for that fact, I've given you my longest chapter EVER. It ranges around 5,400 words/14 pages. Please tell me what you think about the story so far. Thanks to all you readers and reviewers! **

**Ciao, **_**WNAH12**_


	15. Chapter 14: Trouble Brews

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 14: Trouble Brews**_

The lovely reviewers of the last chapter:

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On Tuesday night, after dinner, Hermione was summoned to Dippet's office. She was greeted by the Head boy, Gryffindor Oscar Bell, and the Head girl, Slytherin Eileen Prince. Tom was also waiting in the back of the room.

"Please, Miss Andersen, sit." Dippet gestured for her to sit in one of the available chairs by his desk. She gingerly sat in the chair as the two prefects sat next to her on either side. Tom sat on the other side of Eileen. "Now, you must be puzzled as to why I have requested your presence here this evening." Hermione nodded. "Don't fret, you are not in trouble. You are here tonight so that I may ask something of you." The Hufflepuff was puzzled; what could Dippet possibly want of her?

"You know what a prefect is, correct?" Hermione nodded again. "The Hufflepuff prefects for your year were Norah and Benjamin. However, Norah had to leave because of a family conflict in the fall. Tom has been kind enough to fill in for Norah since they shared the same shift."

"It's not an issue, Headmaster. I'm glad to help my fellow classmates."

"Well, I've wanted to find her replacement for a time now, and all of the teachers have done nothing but sing high praises of you. Would you be willing to serve Hogwarts as the girl's 6th year prefect from Hufflepuff?"

"It would be an honor, sir!"

"Splendid! We have a badge for you, and Eileen and Oscar will help fill you in. Your night partner will be Tom. Have a good evening everyone." The four teenagers left the office.

"This is your schedule; everything you need to know about your patrolling is on there." Eileen shoved the sheet into her hands before she stalked up with her nose up in the air.

"And this is the rule book-rules for you and rules for the students. You don't need to read it, just glance over it whenever you get a chance." Oscar carefully handed into Hermione with a kind smile. He leaned in and whispered, "Don't mind Eileen, she's just cranky because she's been studying like crazy for exams." He ran off after Eileen.

"You'll start patrolling with me tomorrow night, and I'll show you the ropes. Good night, Hermione." Riddle slipped into the night like a shadow, and Hermione headed towards the Hufflepuff commons.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

The rest of the week passed too slowly for Draco. He had made an effort to be friendlier with Hermione, but it was awfully difficult to do when he had Tom watching his every move. He couldn't even give her a smile or a wave without being criticized by his friends. Draco was tempting to follow Jonathan's example and send her secret letters, but he had no clue what to write. _I'm an arse and I've treated you horribly, please forgive me, again? _Instead, Draco waited for the perfect moment to talk to her.

His opportunity arose that Friday afternoon. By the last class that of the day, the students were ready to climb the wall. The girls twittered about dates and shopping and the boys were anxious for time to play in the snow. Professor Slughorn earnestly tried to calm his double period class, but his efforts were in vain. The students, with the exception of Tom and Hermione, would not stop their incessant chattering. In one last attempt to capture their attention, he acted brashly.

"Who here knows about Felix Felicis?" The room grew quite. Tom and Hermione spoke up at the same time.

"It's liquid luck, sir."

"And what does it do?"

"It makes you lucky!" Cornelius said greedily. The students all sat up a bit straighter.

"Yes it does. It's terribly tricky to make, and disastrous if it's made wrong. When made correctly, though, all of yours endeavors will succeed."

"But doesn't it wear off, sir?" Tom questioned

"Well yes, but-"

"It will wear off, but when it's taken in excess, it causes dangerous overconfidence and recklessness. Too much is highly toxic." Hermione explained to Tom.

"But when it's taken on rare occasions, the results will be positive." Draco answered. All heads turned to stare at him. Draco seldom talked in class, so the students were more than surprised to hear from him.

"Very good! Five points for Hufflepuff and Slytherin each! Now, how many of you would like to earn twelve hours of guaranteed luck?" Everyone raised their hands.

"Splendid. Now, if you turn to page, erm…Hermione, or Tom, or both of you, what page is the potion for the Living Draught of Death on?"

"Page ten, sir." They both answered.

"Yes, yes! If you turn to page ten, you will find everything you'll need to make this dangerous brew. It's extremely hard to make, but whoever does the best attempt will earn this little bottle! Now, you have a little over an hour to do this, so off you go!"

Students raced to the counter for supplies, but Hermione and Tom decided against being trampled and levitated their objects to their individual workspaces. Hermione tuned out her conscience for an hour and applied the notes from Snape's potions book, despite the fact that she had lectured Harry about it. Both Tom and Draco were adept potioneers, and they knew how to perfect the potion. Emmet was struggling like Hermione had the first time she made the Draught. The room quickly filled with a bluish steam that caused Hermione's hair to frizz up. Cornelius was sweating through his shirt, and even Tom appeared to be bothered by the heat.

In one corner of the room, a loud clangor rung through the dungeons as Marcus's potion blew up in his face. Nicolas, who was standing next to him, wiped the grime from his glasses with his robes. Draco took this as an opportunity to talk to Hermione. He leaned over and whispered to her from his spot at the table. "He must be related to Seamus." She gave him a smile before returning to her work.

Tom observed all of this and his face twisted into a snarl of disgust as he watched his young protégée pursue such a stupid thing. _Hermione's not stupid, _he had to remind himself. _This whole 'love' concept is the stupid thing_. Tom now knew to watch out for Hermione, she was a hidden snake in the grass. Despite the competition she was giving him, he oddly found himself growing fond of her and the competition she gave him. _Not fond. Fondness implies the ability to emote, which I am incapable of. No, I'm…amused by her,_ Tom reassured himself.

Emmet watched the three people at his table with anguish. "How is yours pale lilac? Mine's still deep purple." Hermione shrugged and continued making her potion. When Slughorn called out that their time was up, he was elated to find that not only had someone made it perfectly, but three students had achieved perfection! The bell rang, and the students left in sorrow with their heads bent down.

"I'm so proud of all three of you! Unfortunately, I only have one bottle."

"Professor, I don't need it." Tom answered. 

"Nor do I." Hermione replied

"Then that leaves Mr. d'Arc. Would you like it?" Draco snatched the bottle from Slughorn's hands. "I trust that you'll be wise with your 12 hours there." 

"Yes sir. I already know exactly what I'm going to use it for." Draco broadly smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Tom and Hermione shared a worried glance with each other. Slughorn watched the children walk away and was quite pleased with himself for his creative improvisation skills. _I'll have to make this a tradition!_

Draco and Tom walked at together, with Hermione a mere step behind

"Congratulations, Draco. You earned it."

"Thanks, Granger."

Tom stopped dead in his tracks, causing Hermione to walk into him. Her books went flying to the floor, which made Draco turn.

"Granger?" Tom questioned.

"Yeah, Granger. What about it?" Draco retorted. Hermione's brow furrowed; he was

speaking like they were back in the 90s, not the 40s. If the blonde kept it up, people would begin to suspect them.

"Hermione, is that your middle name? Or a pet name?" Hermione grew pale in panic, but Draco took charge of the situation.

"Oh no, I just came up with it. I'm now going to call her Granger, after the famous Potioneer, Hector Dagworth-Granger, since she exhibits an adept knowledge on Amortentia."

"Oh, hmm…" Tom paused in thought, looking at Hermione in curiosity. "Granger, Hermione Granger. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Perhaps I should call you Granger too." Hermione replied with a weak smile as she picked up her books off the floor. Tom continued to walk, but stopped when he didn't hear Draco's footsteps. He turned around and saw Draco stooping down to hand Hermione her notebook. She quietly thanked him, and Draco's face lit up like the sun. Tom's face, in contrast, turned dark and stormy. His apprentice was not following his course at all.

"d'Arc, hurry up, we have to drop off our things before we head to the Great Hall."

"Go on ahead, I'll be there in just a sec." Tom snarled and dramatically turned around, his robes billowing in a very Snape like manner.

"Someone must be hungry, eh?" Draco whispered to the frizzy haired girl. In response, he earned a chuckle. They began to walk again in silence, this time together. At the end of the corridor, they had to go their separate ways to reach their individual commons. "I'll see you later, then?" Hermione nodded. He began to walk away, but the Hufflepuff called after him.

"Draco?" He wiped his head around. "Be careful with that potion." She said pointedly. "And don't do anything too rash."

"Yes mother." He gave her a snarky look before dashing down the hall.

**It's short, I'm sorry! Writer's block is killing me! However, the shorter these are, the more likely it'll be I'll update.**

**-WNAH12**


	16. Chapter 15: Electric Touch

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 15: Electric Touch**_

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Tom bided his time in the library while he waited for everyone to leave for Hogsmeade before he snuck down to the first floor. Filled with a desperate kind of energy, he scoured the walls for a door that would seem out of place. He kept silently asking Hogwarts for the mysterious library that he coveted so much. To his frustration, however, he could not find any door, even after he had paced the entire length of the first floor five times. And then it dawned on him that he was searching for the wrong room. He couldn't access the mysterious library because Hermione was in it and didn't want anyone to find her.

Tom changed his tactic and began pleading for a room with Hermione in it. Suddenly, a medium sized, battered wooden door appeared near the prefect bathroom. He strode towards it, eagerly studying the metal work that covered the door. A hazel tree stood proud, strong and tall. The green leaves blew with the wind that swept through the corridor. Tom hesitated a moment before he opened the door handle, scanning the hallways for any signs of life. He knew what a hazel tree symbolized; hidden wisdom and divination. Tucking away his curiosity into the back of his mind, he opened the door and was stepped into darkness.

In front of him was a living hazel tree, surrounded by a forest. The other trees, primarily Oak, fern, and pine, towered into the night sky of the atrium. The forest bed was a field of wild flowers and springy grass. The room felt alive, and Tom took a moment to breathe in the deep scent of the forest and the electricity in the air. He turned around, but the door was far away now, closed tight and fading. The room, or atrium, whatever it was, was pitch-black with the exception of the tree, which was glowing. Its evanescent aura beckoned to him, and Tom began walking to it. Upon nearing the tree, he had to use a hand to block the glowing light. There was yet another door but this one had no handle or knocker. He curtly wrapped on the door.

A voice from within answered, "It's open! Just push." He followed the instructions and pushed it open. He hardly could keep the grin from appearing on his face as he entered the lavish library. The inside of the library was larger than the great hall. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were a part of the tree themselves, covered in ivy. The ceiling was made of the tree canopy. All around the room were small orbs of pale light flickering. Looking closer, Tom could see that they were lightning bugs clustered together. "It's a lot bigger on the inside, isn't it?" Tom looked down and noticed Hermione in the ring of plush armchairs in the center. He walked down the half staircase to join her.

"Sorry about the lights, I assumed you would be arriving, so I light the tree up a little."

"A little? Andersen, it was blinding."

"Then perhaps you should spend some more time outside."

"That's the entire reason I dislike going outside; to avoid the blasted sun."

"There's this wonderful invention called sun block. You should try it some time." She teased. A smile played on Tom's lips. "The books you're looking for on Amortentia are on the table. But feel free to look around though. It has a marvelous selection."

"I should say so." Tom took another moment to gaze around in awe of the room. "But of all things, why a tree?"

Hermione didn't look up from her book. "The tree of knowledge, I suppose." Tom spent a long time wandering around the library before he settled down into a green armchair across from Hermione's red one. _Odd_, Tom pondered, _Shouldn't it be Hufflepuff yellow?_ They settled into a comfortable silence as they both became engrossed by their books. Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the clock Hermione had placed on the end table went off, stirring both of them.

"What time is it?" Hermione reached for the clock at the same time as Tom. Hermione touched the clock first, shocking herself. Their fingers grazed, sending an electric current through both of them. Hermione's hand retracted from Tom's, and she avoided looking at him to hide the flush on her face.

"It's four o'clock. We have to go decorate for the party."

"Already? It feels as if only an hour has passed."

"Time flies when there are good books to read. Five hours of time, to be precise." They both slowly rose from their seats, not yet ready to leave the thrilling spectacle. Hermione led the way with Tom right behind her. Once again, they fell into another comfortable silence as they walked away, not noticing their foot steps were in-sync. The door appeared before them, giving the dark atrium another source of light. Before they reached it, Tom asked her, "Will I be able to visit on my own?"

"You might be able to, I'm not sure. What, am I not good enough company?"

"Surprisingly, you are. Jonathan can't sit still in the library, Draco talks the entire time, and the others refuse to enter the library. So yes, compared to them, you're…decent company." The door changed back into the stone wall as they reentered the corridors of Hogwarts. Slughorn spotted them walking down the hallway and bustled over to them.

"Ah, my favorite students! Are you here to help me with my little soiree?" They nodded. He immediately noticed how closely they were standing to each other. "And together? Taking a turn about the halls, are you?"

"We were just discussing your party, actually." Tom supplied.

Hermione added, "Yes, some friends of ours are attending it together."

"Oh, I do enjoy witnessing the blossoming of young love. Who are the friends?"

"Jonathan Avery and Jane Diggory, sir."

"Really?" He sounded astonished. "I never would have put them together. What an odd pairing."

"They grew up in the same neighborhood. They're actually perfect for each other." Hermione defended.

"My dear girl," he took her hand and patted it. "They may do things differently in France. Jonathan and Jane love one another, but it is against the law to marry a squib." Hermione couldn't help but gasp at the horridness of that statement.

"Now don't worry dear. This is just a puppy love. He'll go on and find a suitable pureblood witch, and she'll help raise her brother's children. It will all work out in the end." Slughorn led them down to his office, but Hermione walked as if she were in a daze. Tom had to practically drag her along.

As they began to hang up the obnoxious pink, red, gold, and white decorations, Hermione brooded in silence over her friends' situation. Tom was stuck in his own thoughts about how to properly induct Draco into the knights when Slughorn pulled him aside. Slughorn felt the need to micromanage both of his trophy students, since Tom and Hermione were the only students who bothered to show up.

"Tom, my boy, I'm very proud of you." Tom raised an eyebrow, unaware of what Slughorn was babbling about now. The older man leaned in and whispered, "For being so kind to Miss. Andersen. I really do believe you two could be friends if you just opened up to each other."

"Of course professor." Tom gave a snide smirk before trying to return to enchanting the window panes to make the snowflakes falling outside look like hearts.

"You know," Slughorn continued, "Hermione has been talking with you a lot lately." Tom gave an absent minded "_mhmm_" in conformation. "Do you believe she's taken a shine to Mr. Avery?" Slughorn asked bluntly, causing Tom's head to whip around to face Slughorn in utter shock.

"No professor, not in the slightest. They are simply friends, I can guarantee that. Jonathan is devoted to Jane, and her alone."

"Oh, well then." Slughorn was lost in thought. The young Slytherin had almost turned to go back to work when Slughorn interrupted him again. "What about that Ravenclaw fellow, Mr. Fudge? Do they get along?" Tom had to contain a snicker, remembering how Hermione had bluntly rejected the boy's advances in the library.

"I wouldn't put it like _that_, sir."

"Hmm…has she repaired her relationship with Mr. d'Arc?"

"No sir. I think they've permanently gone their separate ways," Tom explained hints of pride in his voice.

"How about Mr. Bones? Does she like him?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Tom stated with a bit more venom and grit than Professor Slughorn had ever heard from his favorite student. _Ah, the boy is jealous and just doesn't know how he feels yet, _Slughorn misconstrued.

"What about-" but Tom cut him off.

"Professor, why is it you feel the need to investigate her life? And through a secondary source none the less. Why does it matter to you who she associates with?" _He's also getting defensive_, Slughorn added to his mental notes.

"I was hoping we could find her a date for the dance tonight. Since you two are _just_ friends, I assumed you wouldn't go together. So, now I am trying to help find an appropriate young man worthy of our fine Miss Andersen."

"Professor, there's no need to worry. I'm going with a dear friend of mine, Emmet Bones. I thank you for your concern, but I can handle my own affairs, thank you very much." Slughorn blushed, embarrassed about having been caught talking about a student behind her back.

"I-I-uh-er…" Slughorn stammered. Hermione strode back to her work station with an air of victory swirling about her. _Hadn't Tom just said she wasn't interested in Emmett? Poor Tom, he looked so upset! _Slughorn watched Tom carefully as he moved on to preparing the tables. Tom's face was blank, but inside he was infuriated. Slughorn noticed how tensely Tom gripped his wand, swishing it with more force than necessary. Horace turned around to watch Hermione, who was working on the floating lanterns. _Such a lonely girl with such heartache in her eyes. _He turned back to Tom and an idea came to him. _They seem so aloof of their feelings for each other, perhaps I should help!_ Using nonverbal magic, Slughorn froze on of the lanterns to another, making it almost impossible to separate them. From behind him, he could hear Hermione's aggravation at the problem.

"Why don't you use a ladder, dear girl? The Muggles aren't completely stupid, you know." Hermione gritted her teeth and grabbed the battered ladder hidden in the dingy closet of his office. She snapped it open and carefully began to climb, but the ladder was extremely wobbly. She had made it two thirds of the way up when it wavered greatly, causing her to let out a little shriek. "Tom, my boy, why don't you go help her?" Tom glanced over at her and let out a 'huff' before stalking over to the ladder and holding the base down. Horace was fairly disappointed that Tom didn't even try to look up at Hermione.

"That's odd." Hermione commented after she had fixed the lantern and began climbing back down.

"What?"

"They were _frozen together_." Hermione gave Slughorn a pointed look from her spot on the ladder.

"Very odd indeed." Tom murmured, also glaring at Slughorn, who was sitting at one of the tables, checking off a list of items to-do. What Tom didn't notice was Slughorn using his wand under the tables with his feet. No sane wizard cast spells with their feet, but desperate times call for desperate measures. With a fierce flick, Slughorn shook the ladder enough that Hermione fell. She let at a squeak, falling at a highly dangerous speed with nothing beneath her. And suddenly Tom was there, catching her in his arms. Hermione laid a hand over her heart, relieved. She clung to him, looking wide-eyed. They stood there in the position for a long time, just staring at each other. And as suddenly as it had occurred, the spell was broken between them.

"Andersen, as much as I do enjoy these little moments of ours, I would appreciate it if you got off." Hermione practically jumped out of his arms and hid her flushed cheeks behind her palms. "You weigh more than you look, and my arms were getting tired." She swatted him on the back of the head with her hand. Tom's expression was a perfect mix of baffled and tiffed, which made Hermione chuckle a little. "What are you laughing about?" His expression darkened, but he seemed more like a grumpy cat to Hermione.

"You look like a cat that's just had water dumped on it." Hermione sent herself into a giggling frenzy, imaging Tom as the little black cat from one of her favorite kids' movies, "Kiki's Delivery Service". Tom hissed in response, making it all the more funny.

"I am not a cat."

"You just hissed like one though!"

"I did not hiss like a cat in any such way." He insisted.

"Did too!" Hermione chided, lightly poking him on the nose. Slughorn cleared his throat, drawing them out of the moment.

"I believe that does it for the party set up. Thank you both for all of your contributions. Be sure to be back by 8." He waved them off, releasing them from duty. The pair walked out together. As soon as the door closed behind them, Tom was arguing with her again.

"I am not a cat." He repeated.

"Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that."

"Ugh," he groaned, "You are so irksome at times."

"Thank you!" Hermione began to skip a little, going farther ahead of him by a few footsteps.

"That wasn't a compliment, Andersen."

"I know." She turned around and grinned.

"Then why did you-" But Tom was interrupted by the massive influx of students entering the main stairway at the moment. They were separated in the crowd, and Tom could barely make out her small form pushing through to get to the Hufflepuff Commons. He was tempted to push after her, but a rough hand grabbed his shoulder. He tossed the hand off and spun around to find a red and snowy Jonathan.

"Time and time again, Jonathan, what have I said about the touching thing?"

"Not to do it, I know. But listen, I need to ask you some stuff..."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain on the way to the commons." Jonathan tried to pull him, but Tom gave him a deadly look that told him to back off. He turned back one last time to find Hermione being dragged off by a frantic Jane in the opposite direction. Hermione looked just as confused as he felt. She gave him a small wave before Jane rushed off with her. Tom strode back to Jonathan, and they walked quickly through the sea of students that parted way for them.

When they reached the Common Rooms, Jonathan muttered the password, "_Cineri gloria sera venit_." Tom knew the Latin words by heart; _Fame to the dead comes too late_. Jonathan practically ran through the door and Tom followed suit.

"What is this problem of yours that is _so_ urgent?" Tom sat onto his usual place in the armchair.

"It's about Jane." Tom burrowed his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh. _It was going to be a long evening_.

**AN: I'm** **sorry I cut off right there, but I have to get some level of sleep. However, I can guarantee you lovely people that there will be an update later this week! And this isn't one of those times were I promise I'll update sooner and then get swamped. Nope, I've got this week cleared for writing. FINALLY! It helps that the story is picking up pace somewhat too. Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 16: Risks

**Parselmatch**

_**Ch. 16: Risks**_

**Thanks to these wonderful reviewers! You're the best! :)**

**Helenea**

**BelvaRoze**

**loves2readalways**

**hateme101**

Hermione was pulled into the Hufflepuff commons by a flushed Jane, with Emma hot on their heels. Once they were within the safety of their dorm room, Hermione sat on her bed with Emma as Jane paced about the room.

"Jane? Jane, what's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"It's Jonathan." Emma explained. On the other side of the castle, Jonathan was also panicking.

"It's Jane. She's...just..gah!" Jonathan was hyperventilating. _See_, Tom thought crossly, _this is why I encourage the arranged marriages their parents set up; it avoids all of this terrible crush business._

"Did it not go well?"

"He's perfect. Everything was perfect." Jane let out an exasperated sigh as she flopped onto her bed, burying her face in a pillow.

"No, it was perfect. Hence my problem." Jonathan bemoaned.

"Then why are you complaining?" Tom asked, aloof to Jonathan's anxiety.

"For as perfect as everything was, I don't think she likes me."

"It won't ever work out for us." Jane begrudged. "I love him, but we can't be together. I'd have to be his maid or his children's nanny for us to even meet. If it wasn't for the marriage law..." And then the poor girl broke into tears. "And he was so sweet today. It was like a story from a fairytale. He opened the door, he bought the drinks, we went ice skating and held hands, we discussed Jane Austen..."

"He's read Jane Austen?" Hermione found herself dumbstruck.

"Yes. He noticed me reading her novels last year, and I lent him a collection of her best works." Jane wiped away a stream of tears with her handkerchief.

"That just shows how much he cares for you though!"

"But it doesn't matter. I may love him, and he may love me, but it will all be hopeless in the end! And I don't want to lead him on because that wouldn't be fair to him. I want him to be happy, even if that means we can't be together."

In the Slytherin commons, Jonathan had calmed down a bit and now sat on the edge of one of the couches. "She seemed happy, but so distant. Everything went well, but I could hardly get her to talk or smile. It seemed so forced, like she didn't want to be there. Jane seemed upset about something, she did that thing where she fiddles with her necklace when she's nervous."

"Jonathan, stop being such a dimwit. She obviously likes you, and she was obviously nervous today."

"Really?" The older boy perked up a little.

"Yes. It's as plain as day she adores you." Tom drawled.

"Then why was she acting like that?" Jonathan waved his arm in the air, gesturing to an imaginary Jane.

"She's afraid, you hulking git."

"Of what?"

"Of getting too close too you, only to have you be pulled away from her."

"What are you talking about Tom?" Tom squeezed the bridge of nose in sheer frustration.

"The marriage law. Your father is one of the politicians who still promotes it, for Salazar's sake!"

"My father and I have very different ideologies about that. About everything, really." Jonathan sank back into the chair, letting his eyes close as he clasped his hands together. He rubbed his temples and frowned before jumping up into the air. An idea had struck him. "Will you help me?"

"With what?"

"Jane and the marriage law. Will you help me?" _It must be the end of the world if someone is coming to me for advice on love and fatherly relations,_ Tom sarcastically thought.

"But what do I get out of it?"

"Funding for the Knights,funding for travel, funding for whatever you want! Just help me with this, please." Jonathan begged.

"I suppose I could-" Tom started, but Jonathan cut him off with a hug.

"Thank you, thank you thank you!"

"Jonathan! Time and time again, what have I told you about touching?" He forced the boy off of him and straightened his robes.

"Sorry." But Jonathan couldn't keep the smile off of his face. In the girls' dorm, Hermione and Emma tried to comfort their friend.

"It'll work out Jane, don't worry."

"I think I might be able to help," Hermione murmured to herself. If she recalled correctly, the marriage law had been altered in 1944, which has the current year in this time.

"How?" Jane wiped the remainder of the tears from her face.

"Well, I've always been interested in politics, specifically social rights. Let me look over the Ministry of Magic law handbook and I'll see what I can do. There has to be a loophole or something." Jane moved to Hermione and engulfed her in a hug.

"Thank you. I'm so lucky to have friends like you."

"Now come on!" Emma urged, "Let's get ready for the dance. Benji Summerby asked me today, and I haven't the slightest idea what to wear."

"I thought you were going with Nicolas."

"Oh no, he asked that Ravenclaw girl, what's her name again?"

"Celia Astra."

"Who's that?"

"Some blonde Ravenclaw from the 5th year. She's a bit…well…odd. But Nicky seems to like her, which is what matters. But yes, I'm going with Benji tonight." Emma giggled happily through the last part.

"She's been after him for months." Jane explained to Hermione. As Emma began tossing dresses onto her bed from her trunk, Hermione leaned in to talk with Jane.

"I thought she liked Emmet."

"Oh, of course she does. Everything knows it but the two of them. I just hope Emmet speaks up about his feelings before Benjamin steals her away." At that moment, Emma scurried back over to them with a pile of dresses in her arms.

"Okay, I have seven possible dresses. Jane, try on this green one since Jonathan's your date." She tossed Jane an emerald pinafore dress cut square at the neck and lined with delicate lace. Jane gingerly took the dress from Emma and went behind the privacy screen they had in their room.

"Hermione, the pink one might look good on you." She held it up against Hermione's form before shaking her head. "No, this color isn't your shade. How about the blue one?" Emma displayed it for Hermione, who responded with a scrunched nose. "No?" Emma glanced down at it. "You're right; it's too frilly for you." Hands on her hips, she scanned the dresses fanned out on her bed until she spotted the perfect dress. "Aha!" She picked up a black tea dress with soft cream spots on it. It had a fitted bodice and flared out above the waist, reaching a little below the knees. The shoulders and chest were covered in a black, sheer fabric. "Go try it on!" Janey left the screen and Hermione took her place.

"Who are you going with anyway, Hermione?"

"Emmet asked me this morning."

"Oh." She could hear Emma's voice crack. "That's nice."

"We're just going as friends. We don't like each other like that." Even from her spot on the other side of the room, Hermione could tell that Emma was smiling. Stepping out from behind the screen, she showed off her dress.

"It's perfect!"

"You look beautiful!" She traded places with Emma and began putting on some light makeup. When Emma finally came out, her roommates couldn't help but gasp. The redhead was wearing a tight swing dress with no sleeves. In the 1990s, this would have been fine, but in the 1940s it was quite bold.

"Wow!"

"Do you think he'll like it?" Janey and Hermione shared a glance, knowing that she truly meant Emmet, not Benjamin.

"If he doesn't fall head over heels now, he's blind." They all giggled. After they were all prepared, they left the dorm room arm in arm. Benjamin was waiting for Emma, nervously tapping his foot and running a hand through his hair. He seemed nice enough; Hermione really knew nothing about him since she had no classes with him. His blonde hair was slicked back and coiffed. Emma confidently linked arms with him and strutted out of the commons like a movie star on the red carpet. Hermione and Jane continued to walk together until they reached the doorway of Slughorn's office where Jonathan and Emmet where waiting for them.

"You look stunning Jane."

"Thank you." The lovebirds locked eyes until Jonathan noticed Hermione behind Janey.

"As do you, Hermione." Emmet was still gob smacked by Emma's outfit.

"Oh, oh, yes. You look great Hermione."

"Thanks Emmet." The four of them walked into the office. The party was well under way and bursting with people. Celebrities mingled with students and politicians. Jonathan and Jane made their way to the dance floor while Emmet followed Hermione to one of the tables. Slughorn immediately spotted her and bustled over to her, dragging along a young politician and Tom.

"Why, hello Miss Andersen! You look splendid this evening.

"Thank you professor."

"I'd like you to meet Glenn Avery, Jonathan's elder brother." He took her hand and kissed it.

"Enchanted." He look like an older version of Jonathan, but colder and more sly.

"Likewise. This is my friend Emmet Bones." Hermione introduced. The two men wordlessly shook hands, both void of emotion.

"And of course you know our young Mr. Riddle here." He nodded at her in recognition.

"Mr. Avery works in the Ministry of Magic in the Department of International Magical Cooperartion."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but my fiancé is calling me over. You know how fidgety women get when they're left unattended." He all but ran away from Slughorn. Hermione glowered at the vulture of a man with such intensity that even Tom was somewhat taken aback.

"Would you like to dance, Hermione?"

"I'd love to." She tried her best to keep the anger out of her voice, but it still had a sharp edge to it. He whisked her away to the dance floor. The jazz played by a band of phantom players blared their music at full blast, making it hard to have a conversation. After an hour, Emmet and Hermione sat down at an available table, exhausted. Janey and Jonathan were gazing into each other's eyes at a nearby table, and Emma was still taking the dance floor by storm. Nicolas and his date soon joined the pair.

"Hey kids! Taking a break from all that wild dancing?"

"Yes. It's so warm in here."

"Indeed. I'd like you to meet my date, Celia." Celia pulled Hermione to her feet and gave her a hug. Her long blonde hair was pinned up in a chignon.

"It's so nice to meet you!" Her voice was soft and demure. She released the other girl and smiled. It was obvious that this was the young woman who would become Luna's grandmother.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Hello Emmet."

"Hi Celia."

"We're going to head to the punch bowl, do you kids want anything?"

"No thanks." Hermione answered, taking charge. The couple left, leaving Hermione and Emmet in silence again. Just as he was about to say something, Cornelius waddled over.

"Greetings Emmet." He did not acknowledge Hermione, which she was silently thankful for. "This is a wonderful little soiree, isn't it?"

"Yes, I'm quite enjoying myself."

"Yes, yes." Cornelius chattered, not really listening to what Emmet had just said. "Where is that little minx of yours?"

"Pardon?" Emmet's face began to grow a light shade of pink.

"You know, that redhead you always keep about. Where is she?"

"Emma is dancing with her date."

"Hmm. I might have to go change that. After all, who doesn't love a free flirtation?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, come off it Bones. Everyone knows she's the biggest tease in the whole school. She'll talk to anything that moves, including the paintings. So I might as well enjoy my time here and go dance with her." Cornelius got up to leave, but Emmet stood up and grabbed his shoulder.

"You'll have to ask her."

"What was that Bones? I didn't quite catch that. You have this tendency to mumble."

"When you want to dance with a lady, you ask her. She does not in any way, shape, or form have to say yes."

"You're assuming she's a lady." Cornelius patted his shoulder, but Emmet ripped his hand off.

"If you keep talking like that-" Emmet growled. Hermione had never seen the quiet Ravenclaw be so confrontational before tonight.

"What are you going to do, huh Bones? Stammer at me? Ooh, I'm so scared." Fudge egged. Sick of this nonsense, Hermione channeled Ginny and cast a silent bat-boogey hex. Cornelius began to shout as the winged creatures flew out of his nose. People were confused, but the music was so loud that they couldn't hear the ongoing fiasco.

"I suggest you go to the loo. You have a little something in your nose." The fat boy snarled at them, but couldn't fully achieve in because a pregnant bat flew out of his nose. He stalked away and Emmet smirked in triumph.

"Thank you for doing that."

"Doing what?" Hermione asked coyly.

He paused for a moment before realizing that she was faking ignorance. "Nothing." He offered his hand and she took it. The two of them went back to the dance floor. Emma had just freed herself from yet another suitor. Emmet gazed at her, and Hermione nudged him in the gut.

"Go dance with her." 

"What?" He asked dumbstruck.

"Ask. Her. To. Dance."

"But I don't know if she'll say yes."

"Take a risk and seize the moment before it's too late." He gave her a knowing smile and scurried off. She was about to head back to the tables when she was tapped on the shoulder. The Hufflepuff turned around to find Draco standing before her in formal dress robes.

"That was a rather good speech you gave back there, Granger." She shrugged. "It's so good, in fact," he smiled, "that I'm going to use it. Take a chance, take a risk, and dance with me, Granger." He offered out his hand. Hermione was both scared and exhilarated. When she weighed the pros and cons, however, she found that she wasn't ready to be left broken-hearted again.

"I've taken a lot of risks when it comes to you."

"I know." His voice grew soft.

"And every time I do, it comes back to haunt me."

"And yet you always hope for the best and give me another chance."

"Before yes, but tonight…maybe not." She began to walk away, but Draco caught her hand.

"Hermione, wait! Please, just hear me out for a minute. You've given me so many opportunities before, and I've always wasted them. But please just give me one more chance. I'm not looking for a romantic involvement, I just want to restart and be friends again."

"That's how it always starts, but then it spins out of control!"

"Isn't that part of why we continually twirl back together though? It's the rush. We love being out of our element and out of control for just once in our lives."

"Maybe you've been a bit absent minded lately, but I don't think you realize how much it hurts me when we rip apart. With each rip I break down more and more, and I'm not sure about how much more I can break before I can't fix myself anymore."

"I know. That's why I think we should strictly remain friends. We'll start off as acquaintances and work our way up. Please?" He started to beg. "I've missed you so much."

"Yeah, well, whose fault is that?" Only then did Draco realize how bitter about it she still was.

"Entirely mine. But I'm working on not being so quick to anger, and I'm working on being a better person. It's all for you. You make me a better ma, Hermione." Hermione recalled Tom's conversation with her earlier in the year. _Draco won't change. It's an uphill battle you'll lose every time, no matter how hard you try._ She shook away her instincts.

"Perhaps we could be…friends."

"Great!" He took her hand and was about to run with her to the dance floor when Tom stopped them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have to monitor the corridor now."

"Can we get a rain check on that dance?" Draco asked. She nodded yes before leaving the party with Tom.

"I'm going to patrol the dungeons first to make sure there are no couples hidden away." Tom told her. "You should check the classroom and this main corridor. We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes." He slipped off into the shadows of the dungeons, leaving her lone with her thoughts. She carefully checked Slughorn's classroom and found nothing. Not even the ghosts wanted to be out tonight. As she was making her way back to the corridor, she ran into the one and only Peeves.

"Ooh, a victim!" But just as quickly as he saw her did he recognize her. "Ugh, you're that Hufflepuff twit who Tom won't let me hurt. Phooey!" He was about to zoom off when Hermione stopped him.

"Peeves?"

"What, oh yellow one?"

"Who else does Tom have you not attack?"

"Er…Slytherins and you; you icky, horrid badger."

"And that's it?"

"Yes! How many times must I repeat myself?"

"Thanks for the explanation."

"Whatever. See ya!" Peeves disappeared in a cloud of blue dust. Hermione made her way to the main corridor. To keep herself occupied, she started singing the Weird Sisters' _Magic Works_ to herself.

"_Hold each other tight, and keep each other warm. And dance your final dance. This is your final chance to hold the one you love. You know you've waited long enough"._ Just then, Cornelius Fudge stepped out of the shadows. He no longer had the bats in his nose, but his face was covered in little tufts of bat fur.

"Going somewhere?"

"Bug off, Fudge." She kept walking, but he followed after her.

"So, that was a charming little spell you used there. A bat-boogey hex, right?" She ignored him and kept walking. "Oh, am I not good enough to talk to? I'm sorry that not all of us can be Tom Riddle." He sneered. "I'm sorry that I'm not as _eloquent _of a conversationalist as Emmet," he said in a sarcastic matter. She nonverbally threw him to a wall and pinned him there.

"Ah, now there's the spark I've been looking for. It's sad, really, that the only way I can see the real you is by provoking you." She sent another spell that slammed him against the wall.

"Shut-up."

"Ouch. Someone doesn't like hearing the truth." She walked towards him, wand ready to cast. "I must say, you really are extraordinary when you're in action. If only you weren't a half-blood, I'd have my parents organize a marriage." She punched him square in the jaw.

"I may be of muggle descent, but I'm not the one who's scum here." She started to stalk away when Cornelius called out to her.

"I can see why you're in Hufflepuff. You lack the courage to finish me off, the knowledge on how to, and the cunning to get away with it." In a moment of anger, she whipped around and cast the stinging jinx on him, sending him into a frenzy. His neck began to swell, his face grew puffy, and his eyes became bloodshot.

"I am proud of my house. They are the kindest, bravest, most loyal people I've had the honor of meeting. They were my first group of friends who didn't use me for their own profit. They were the first group of scholars who wanted me to tutor them because they earnestly want to learn and make the world a better place. They've became my family when I lost mine. And I wouldn't give them up for anything in the world." She released him for the jinx. Raising her wand once again, she sent a new spell. "Obliviate." Cornelius passed out for a moment, only to wake again.

"Huh? Where am I?"

"Oh, hello. I just found you by this post when I was on my patrol," Hermione lied. "I think you had too much butterbeer and fell asleep."

"Yeah, that sounds right. Well, thanks for waking me up. I'm heading to the tower now, goodnight." He slowly rose and shuffled away. Hermione was rather impressed with her memory wipe. She had taken away any affections or vices towards her, as well as wiping out his mean streak. He would still be stubborn, but not as rude as he had been before.

From the darkened corner where Tom stood, he was rather impressed. _Well played, Hermione, well played. _

**Largest chapter EVER, whew! I'm ending it here for right now because it's way too late. Hope you all enjoy. I'll update as soon as I can. Currently, the goal is this Friday, if I'm really lucky.**

**Thanks!**

**-WNAH12**


	18. Chapter 17: Trust Fall

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 17: Trust Fall**_

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"Students in the 6th year head to the courtyard please. Billy Lemon, don't you touch that!" Professor Merrythought was trying her best to clear the hallways for her 6th year Defense against the Dark Arts class, but all of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years kept getting in the way. They followed the Apparition training gear in awe. "This way, 6th years. Excuse us!" Tom was helping the elderly professor carry out the equipment, along with his fellow 6th years Clifford Mulicber and Steven Nott. When everyone was rounded up, Merrythought cleared her voice to talk. "This is your first Apparation lesson. There will be 12 lessons overall, and your Apparation license test will be the first week of May. Here to teach you all from the Ministry of Magic is Mr. Wilkie Twycross." As the young Twycross mumbled through the introductory information, Steven leaned and whispered to Tom.

"Where's d'Arc? Shouldn't he be here?"

"Oh no, he and that other exchange student don't need to take the class. Apparently, they already have their license? I guess they can take it earlier over in France." Tom felt his stomach tense at this. They had free reign over the castle. Who knew what Draco would do in order to get Hermione back?

"Lucky. I've just met this bloke and I already hate his guts." Throughout the three hour long lesson that morning, Tom's mind could not focus. After lunch, Hermione caught up with Tom amongst the crowds headed to Hogsmeade.

"Riddle!" He stopped in order to let her catch up to him. "Hi."

"Hello." His tone was flat.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again today, since the majority of the other students are leaving for the shops."

"Oh. Are we going to the tree again?" His interest was peeked.

"Well, I had some different in mind for today, that is, if you're up for it." He raised an eyebrow, not sure of what she was talking about. "Come on!" She grabbed his hand and went running through the crowd, dragging Tom after her. Once they were at the statue of the one-eyed witch near the deserted stairs of the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, Hermione tapped the hump and spoke. "_Dissendium." _And the passage to Hogsmeade opened.

"Andersen, where does this lead?"

"Somewhere. It's okay, just follow me." She began to walk into the tunnel, but turned back when she didn't hear Tom behind her. "What? Don't you trust me?"

"I don't trust anyone."

"But have I ever lied to you before?"

"No…"

"Then just trust me."

"That's called the gambler affect, Andersen. My faith in another human being is not going to be based solely on previous lucky encounters. I'm not a fool."

"I know you're not." Her voice grew soft. "And I've gotten hurt when I trust other people too. But I trusted you with the tree, and I trust you with this."

"Why? You know nothing about me."

"Because I believe that everyone can be good."

"That's such a very rosy lens thing to say. But life doesn't work like that."

"You don't think I know that? You think I haven't lost my faith from time to time? That I haven't been lost in my own darkness before? That there were times when I felt so alone I just wanted to end it all?"

"Hermione, I never meant…" Tom's voice gradually became quiet as he trailed off.

"I know what you're talking about. Because I've been there too. I was that kid that had no friends growing up, I was the freak. And I was everyone's brain at school and everyone's mother, but never really their friends. There were times when no one was in my corner, and I felt utterly alone. But I look on the upside; I have to." She paused for a moment to wipe away a lone tear on her face. "I took a chance and trusted two boys my first year, and now they're my best friends. And I've taken a chance on someone else and gotten hurt." Tom's breathe seized for a moment when he realized that she was talking about Draco. It made him upset Draco's focus wasn't aligned on pureblood supremacy and his house mates, but it also made him, well, angry that such a bright girl with so much talent lowered herself to date the likes of d'Arc.

"But that's what life is about-taking chances. If you don't try trusting people, try to enjoy life, or just take a risk for once, then there is no point to living." Her words resonated throughout the area, and Tom was feeling overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry, that was a little too deep for today. This was meant to be fun." Hermione sighed. "A group of third years told me this is how they used to sneak into Hogsmeade before they were allowed to. Since you and I have never gone, I thought it would be a nice change. You don't have to come if you don't want to." She glanced away from him. Inside, Tom felt torn. He didn't want to trust her; he witnessed on multiple occasions the extent of her power. She was just as manipulative as he was. Yet in a sense she was so much more innocent, so much more _corruptible. _Perhaps he could also recruit Hermione. No one would suspect her to be associated with an organization like his; she'd be the perfect undercover agent. But he couldn't focus on plotting the future of the Knights when she looked at him with those saucer eyes. And he had always wanted to go to Hogsmeade…

"If I was only gone for an hour-" he started, but she burst into a smile and clasped her hands together in delight, which made him chuckle a little. To see such a dangerous girl act like a joyful canary was a strange sight. "-I suppose I could go with you." He finished. She nodded her head but didn't reach out to grab him.

She knew he was in a fragile state. Okay, well, that was an exaggeration. Point being, she had brought up a sore subject that was obviously one of the key issues all of his problems stemmed from. If she continued to smoother him with friendship, he would surely slip away. And she didn't know why, but she wanted to be friendly with him. Despite the fact he was a mass murder and sociopath, he gave such an interesting perspective during debates. He actually listened to her. And he could talk about books. She understood that she shouldn't become close to him, but it wouldn't kill her if she talked to him during the day. Hermione was going to be stuck here for a while, and she needed to stay under the radar. The least she could do was be civil towards him.

The she slid into the hole and down the slide, and Tom hesitantly followed suit. She cast a light charm to guide the way, and the pair walked in silence until they reached the other end of the tunnel. She boldly walked up the stone steps, with Tom. Her hands reached for the trap door and she lifted it up slightly to see. Tom crawled right next to her to see as well, letting their shoulders graze.

"Where are we?"

"I think this is a candy shop, you can see the boxes of Jelly Beans over there."

"Impressive Andersen. I didn't know you were so sneaky." She blushed and looked away, taking the moment in order to open the door fully and step out.

"We'll have to disillusion ourselves for the time being." They walked out of the basement and into the shop. He hungrily eyed all of the delicious treats, but stuck close to Hermione's side. Once they were outside, she stopped short, causing him to bump into her. "We can continue being disillusioned and not be able to buy anything, or we can undo the spell and risk getting caught. What do you think?"

"Today is a day of risks. Undo the spell." She smiled a bit, satisfied that she had made such a seemingly large impact on Tom's behavior.

"Where do you want to go first?"

"Can we walk around first? I honestly don't even have the faintest idea of what is here." The pair walked side by side, but were forced to walked even closer when the streets grew filled with students. After having walked the entire length of the shops, they stopped outside of Honeydukes again.

"Have you made a decision?"

"I was really looking for a bookshop, but they don't have one. However, there was one shop that piqued my interest…" He trailed off.

"Sure, where to then?" He was about to speak but stopped, cocking his head to the side.

"You verbal delivery really is lacking, Andersen, I must say. You appear intelligent, yet you speak like, well, like you're not from here. Maybe they teach you how to phrase things differently in France, but-" Hermione cut him off.

"Well I'm sorry, not all of us can afford to walk around with our noses as high in the air as you can. Forgive me, my liege." Her words dripping with sarcasm, she mocked a curtsey.

"I certainly do not-" But she cut him off again.

"Oh, that's right. You do not stick your nose up, you simply expect the rest of us to grovel and bow before your august power, I forgot." She snorted.

"Well, actually, I prefer people to lie completely flat on the ground so my feet will never touch the floor." Hermione was almost ready to slap him until she noticed a smile cracking through his stern face. Upon noticing she caught him smiling, he immediately returned to looking solemn.

_THOWP!_

What in the world? Tom looked down to his chest to see a chunk of snow plastered to the front of his robes. Hermione stood there, looking rather cheeky.

"What was that for?"

"For being a right good prat!" She laughed.

"Do you see what I meant by your vocabulary? My ears are bleeding because of it!" He feigned pain and covered his ears, almost getting hit by another snowball. "First off, you're not playing fair. We're at such close range that-" But he was silenced when a snowball hit him square in the face.

"Since when do you play by the rules? _You're_ the one in Slytherin." She slowly began to back up as his face grew red with anger. "But at the moment, I'd say you're a scarlet faced Gryffindor!" Possibly the worst attempt at an insult, _or was it meant to be a joke? Tom couldn't tell, _he charged at her, but she had already begun to run away.

He pursued her past all the shops and houses until they reached an abandoned field, guarded by a ragged fence. Without thinking, he nimbly jumped over the fence and kept chasing her into the snowy banks of the field. She had disappeared behind one of the piles of snow, leaving him alone in the field.

Out of no where, he was being pelted with snow balls. He turned around and caught sight of a mane of wavy tendrils before it she was hidden behind another bank. Instinctively, he ducked under the safety of one of the piles while he prepared his ammo. When he was almost done, he felt another icy ball of snow go down his back, sending shivers up his spine. In return, he rolled to the side, chucking a snowball at the mound nearby where he heard a satisfying 'eek'. Within moments, they were ruthlessly throwing snowballs at each other, each throw growing more and more forceful. It looked a bit like a game of "wack-a-mole", in which Tom and Hermione were continuously popping up from behind different snow piles.

After what felt like forever, there was a clearance from enemy fire. The heir crept over to Hermione, who was slumped against the side of a snow bank. Before she knew what was going on, he showered her in a merciless blitzkrieg of snowballs. At first, she laughed it off.

"Hey! Stop it! I give in!" But he continued to attack her with the numbingly cold snow. Her tone grew worried, then serious "Tom, stop it. Tom? Tom! Stop it! I'm done, you've won! Just knock it off!" But he was blinded by the frenzy of power, and thus he ignored her pleas. His eyes were the only red thing in the sea of white swirling around them. "**STOP IT!" **__She screamed. A bubble of fire burst from all around her, knocking Tom back. The fire swirled around her, and Tom felt powerless against her for a moment. And in a second, the fire seemed to be sucked back into her and she fell to her knees. Tom's eyes returned to their normal medley of colors. He sat there in shock for a moment before going to her trembling form. Andersen's eyes were wide and tearful in fear.

"Oh my god, Tom, I'm so sorry. Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I don't know why I got so angry, I just-" But Tom crouched down to floor and put a hand on her shoulder.

"There's no need to apologize. That was brilliant."

"What?" She asked, bewildered.

"You don't need to apologize for that. That was probably the most remarkable bit of magic I've ever seen someone else perform. Such a talent should not be hidden, but shown to the world for praise." His rubbed her arm. He had always assumed that the "touchy-feely" aspect of friendship would be awkward, but he put aside his own embarrassment for her sake.

"But you could have gotten hurt-I could have killed you!"

"Yet here I am."

"How is it that you're so calm about this? Do you confront life-threatening issues regularly?" _Well, if you put it like that_, he began to think before shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind. "Why aren't you running away, reporting me to one of the teachers?"

"Because I'm amazed…Do you understand what you did exactly?" Andersen shook her head. "You used essence magic, wandless I might add. I've never said this to anyone before, but that was spectacular. You're the only other person I know who can do that."

"You can do it too?" Tom nodded. "But what is 'essence magic'? And-"

But he cut her off.

"I'll explain when we get back. It's a long conversation. But come on, let's head back. You're soaked." He helped her up and wrapped his arm around Andersen to keep her balanced.

"Thank you." She whispered, but she seemed elsewhere, distant and lost. When he didn't respond, she asked, "Why is it you aren't running straight back to report me to the teachers?"

"Well, first of all, that would allow them to figure out we snuck into Hogsmeade. Second, because, oddly, I respect you. You have all of this immense power trapped inside that little body of yours, yet you don't feel the need to show it off. You slip into the shadows every chance you get, but it won't work. As a beacon of light, you guide others out of the darkness and into the light. You're like a fire at night; you just make everything glow." Andersen blushed and hid her face by looking away.

"Thank you. That was very poetic."

"Ah yes, poetry. My true calling." He deadpanned. She stole a glance at him and snickered. "You know, Pike has his riddles, I have my poetry, you have the lights, and Warburga wears all that extra fabric. We could become a circus." They made eye contact for a moment before bursting into laughter. They stopped outside of Gladrag's Wizardwear. "Why don't you go in and buy something warm, and I'll go grab us some drinks."

Hermione went into the shop and was immediately visually assaulted by all of the colors. She had to search every nook and cranny for something affordable and simplistic. Finally, hidden in a clothes rack, she found two nice black sweaters. She quickly bought them, changed her clothes, wearing the smaller of the two jumpers, and headed out. Hermione was about to head towards The Three Broomsticks when Tom called out to her. She turned around and saw him from where was waiting by a lamppost.

"Where is it you got reservations?" They began to trudge their way towards their destination.

"A teashop. It's actually going where I wanted to go in the first place, and it is extremely appropriate now since we're both frozen." Hermione almost had to force herself to keep walking. _He's taking me to Madame Puddifoot's?_ "Luckily for us, the place is fairly empty at the moment. We have a table by the front window."

"Oh, I got you a sweater, if you want it." She handed the bundle to him, and he left to go change into the warm jumper. In the meantime, she gazed out the window and observed life on the other side of the window. From her spot at the window, she could see Cornelius walking around with a group of younger students. Luckily, her _Obliviate_ was had been very effective, and he was none the wiser. At of the corner of the eye, she could see a little girl watching with the lollipop in his hand with greedy eyes, her chubby face pressed against the window, making her look like a pig. Fudge stopped to talk with a resident of Hogsmeade when the girl bustled outside and made her way right over to him.

"Mine!" She shouted, pointing up to him. Her shrill voice shared the tonal qualities of a Mandrake.

"Huh? Oh, you want the lollipop?"

"No, mine!" She tugged on his pant leg and pointed up at his face. She couldn't have been more than five, but her short stature made her look younger. Her hair was pulled into tight pigtails, and onto of her head was a prim black bow. The young child's outfit was almost blinding. She wore a lime green dress with a fuzzy pink sweater. Her shoes were pink, but her tights had cat faces all over them. _Could it be? _The little girl continued to tug on Cornelius's pant leg.

"Oh, Cornelius, it looks like you've got a little admirer!" cooed the resident.

"And what's your name?"

"I'm Dolores. Dolores Umbridge. I'm almost six. I have a cat named Kitty. I like playing Hopscotch. But don't **ever**__break the rules when you play with me, got it?" She jabbed his leg. "You're Cornelius Fudge, you go to Hogwarts, and you're mine!" He patted her head.

"I can't play right now. Perhaps I'll play with you another time, alright?"

"Okay. I'll wait." The girl took a step back, smiling up at Fudge the whole time.

"I must get going, ma'm. I'll have my mother invite you over for lemonade during the Easter break. Goodbye." He began to walk away, but the girl called after him.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, but I have to meet a friend."

"But I'm your friend." She insisted.

"I will come play Hopscotch with you next week, alright?" She nodded her head vigorously. "Bye, Dory!" She giggled at her new nickname and went skipping back inside.

"What are you watching so intensely?" Tom joined her at the table.

"An obnoxious little girl trying to get Fudge to play."

"Speaking of Fudge…" But the waitress came over to take their order. They both ordered chamomile, waiting for the waitress to go away before they started talking again.

"What's essence magic?"

"From what I've read, it's a form of very powerful magic generated from the soul of the caster. It comes at moments of extreme emotion, but can be controlled and mastered. The caster sends out a powerful, visible force. It's typically used as an attack on an enemy caster. Your 'essence', or 'soul type' is based upon the elements, so earth, wind, fire, water. In addition, your caster type, light or dark, affects the form it will take. Your essence is apparently fire. Have you ever done something like that before?"

"When I was younger. I got picked on frequently because of my intelligence, so one day, I must have been eight, I had had enough. A girl tried to punch me and she got a face full of smoke. The teachers didn't know what had happened, and thought it was just an accident the school house had been set on fire."

"Hermione Andersen, pyromaniac." He said it dramatically, letting his hands spread out like he was announcing a show. "You'll have a whole side show event for your antics in my circus."

"Your circus?"

"Yes, I'm the ringmaster, after all."

"What's your essence?"

"I'm water. But it seems to lean more towards the frozen side." Hermione was confused. From what she had heard, in her 5th year, when Voldemort fought with Dumbledore, his essence had been fire, not water.

"First time it happened, it was the middle of summer, so everyone knew it was unnatural. I was three years old, and one of the elder kids kicked me down two flights of stairs. When frost started to appear on the windows, the other children began to panic, and then everything was thrown into bedlam when the windows shattered and the first floor was covered in ice. And ever since, I've had a room to myself at Wool's."

"Wool's is the-" Knowing what she was going to ask, he cut her off.

"Yes." They stared at each other for a while. Hermione was the first to break the silent tension hanging thick in the air around them.

"You got some soot on your cheek." He attempted to wipe it off with thumb, but the dark smudge remained. "Missed it." He used the pads of his fingers in order to scrub away the ash. "You're still not getting it." She laughed. "Here, let me get it for you Tiger." Dabbing her frilly napkin in the available vase of water for the roses at the window, she gingerly cleaned off the soot.

"Tiger?"

"Yes, because you're a cat." He scrunched his face up in protest which only made her laugh at him more. "Would you prefer Mr. Whiskers?" He shook his head. "Although at this point I'm leaning towards Senor Grouchy Pants for you."

"Never." He growled.

"Alright. Tiger it is then." Hermione glanced out the window to watch the snow.

"Are we getting more snow, Sparky?"

"Sparky?"

"Yes, since you're a fire starter. It's rather fitting in my opinion." They continued to watch the snow in silence, their hands resting on the table. The pair of them were so focused on the snow flakes fluttering down from the sky that they didn't notice anything when their knuckles brushed.

"So, how long?" The younger student turned their head towards their middle aged waitress.

"Pardon?"

"How long have you two been together? Obviously more than a year, since you aren't attacking each other with affection."

"Oh we're not-"

"Not together. 

"Not at all."

"Never."

"Oh, that's a pity. You two really seemed to have something special. Well, here you go! Two chamomiles. Would you like any sugar or milk?"

"Milk and one, please." The teenagers answered at the same time. The waitress bustled off, leaving them alone once again.

"So…thank you for dragging me to Hogsmeade."

"Thank you for trusting me. And letting me blast you with a fireball."

"I've faced worse."

"Here's the milk and sugar, dears. Enjoy." Each added a dash of milk and a teaspoon of sugar before sipping their tea.

"You know, Sparky," he began to say, breaking the silence, "I'd never thought I'd say, but I'm glad I talked to you."

"I feel the same about you, Riddle."

"You're one of the few I can just _talk_ to…do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes! And you don't feel the need to fill the silence-"

"I hate when the others do that. All that chatter doesn't mean anything."

"Exactly! It has no substance, no depth. And I'm so glad I don't have to explain myself around you because you understand, you just-"

"-get me," they answered together. They stared wide-eyed at each other, mystified.

From the lamppost he was leaning on, Draco had a perfect view inside the teashop. Tom was sitting with Hermione, and they were amicably talking away. He felt the envelope in his pocket burning a hole. He pulled it out again, reading the words again for what felt like the thousandth time.

_To Mr. Draco d'Arc. Your presence would be appreciated at Midnight on the night of March 4th, 1944 in the Hidden Room. Your brothers in arms are waiting. Do not disappoint us._

_Regards,_

_KoW._

Watching Tom from the window, the piece of paper began to become a crumpled ball in his hand under all the force he was crushing it with. Yes, he would attend the meeting. And yes, he would make sure he got into the Knights of Walpurgis. But his new goal was to take down the Knights as well as Tom Riddle, making his life a living hell. Draco turned up the collar his black pea-coat to turn keep out the cold that had already begun to seep into his heart. As he walked away, his green and silver scarf bellowed in the wind. He wanted to say he was alright, that he didn't feel horrible. But the jealousy had overcome his soul; it was dragging him into a dark vortex of anger and revenge. And he hated to admit it, but his face had grown clammy from the tiny trail of tears rolling down his cheek.

**Next chapter coming** **soon. Hope you enjoyed!**

**-WNAH12**


	19. Chapter 18: No Light

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 18: No Light**_

Thanks to all of the people who started following/favoriting! Somehow, I have 90 reviews now-WOW! Y'all are making me do a fangirl spasm of joy.

The lovely reviewers of the last chapter:

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OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"This is Oscar Bell coming to you live from the Hogwarts stadium. It's a beautiful day here in Scotland; the sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for Quidditch!" The crowd erupted with cheers. "Today we've got two great teams playing: Ravenclaw and Slytherin!" The arena burst into a wild fanfare, but everyone could feel the tension hanging thick in the air. Slytherin and Ravenclaw had no clear advantage over each other, and the game could go either way. "This game's gonna be a real test folks: the ultimate tie breaker!"

Jane sat with Emma and Hermione in the Hufflepuff stands.

"I don't know who to cheer for, Jonathan or Marcus." Jonathan was flying high above the field, scouting for the snitch. Meanwhile, Marcus was chasing after the bludger.

"Cheer for your boyfriend!" Emma encouraged.

"He's not my boyfriend." Jane insisted with a blush.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant soul mate," the redhead teased.

"Emma!" She lightly whacked Emma's arm as punishment.

"Alright, alright! How about steady?"

"That's better, I suppose."

"Why don't you just cheer for both?" Hermione asked.

"Eh, not as much fun. You can't get into the game if you cheer for everyone," Emma explained.

"I take it you really enjoy Quidditch?"

"She could give the Gryffindors a run for their money." Tom and Draco found spots in the Slytherin stand, sitting as close to the Hufflepuff section as possible.

"I thought Tom hated Quidditch."

"He only comes to the games when Slytherin plays." Nicolas, Celia, and Emmet made their way over to their Hufflepuff friends. Emmet shyly sat beside Emma. A once normal action now felt awkward because they were dating. Nicolas and Celia sat in front of their friends.

"Is Marcus nervous about playing Slytherin?"

"He's eager to break the tie and get ahead."

"They delayed this game three times, so he's a bit antsy," Nicolas added.

"I just hope it doesn't rain. The thestrals whispered of thunder last night." Hermione had to contain her giggle. Celia reminded her so much of her granddaughter Luna. As if the young Ravenclaw has summoned it, the sky grew dark and grumbled.

"Don't worry, folks. It's just a little rumble." Oscar assured over the speakers. But the sky spoke otherwise, and a storm approached the stadium. "It's a good thing we carry wizarding insurance, eh? We'll be able to play as long as there isn't any lightning within a 2 kilometer radius."

The game continued, with Ravenclaw a mere point behind Slytherin. It was only drizzling, but the sky rumbled more. As soon as Jonathan saw the snitch, a bolt of lightning stroked down near the forest.

"I'm sorry folks, we'll half to call the game. Slytherin will play Gryffindor next week, and Ravenclaw will play Hufflepuff." The students protested in anguish, but the teachers were not having any of it. The rain progressed from a drizzle to downpour, drenching the students in a cold sleet-like rain. Many of the kids hopelessly attempted to cover themselves with their posters and scarves. Very few students had prepared for unexpected weather. Children from all four houses crowded together to form a mob of people as they ran back to the castle.

Amongst the crowd, Tom found Hermione almost instantly because of her hair. Usually tamed into a braid or pulled back, today it was down, out, and frizzy. She had the look of a mad scientist.

"Sparky," he called out to her. She stopped in her tracks as he strode towards her. She was shocked to find that it was Tom who had tried to grab her attention. It was odd, she observed, that he always seemed so alone, even in a crowd of people. Everyone seemed to naturally give him some clearance, making him occupy a bubble of loneliness. He walked towards her, umbrella cast over his head. When Tom reached her, he automatically linked arms with her as he continued to walk, pulling her under the protection of the umbrella.

"Thank you."

"Well, I would awfully guilty if I let my fire burn out." A first year ran past them, breaking the protection of Tom's bubble and the umbrella, jostling Hermione and pushing her closer to Tom. His arm instinctively wrapped around her and pulled her away from the little beast. When he could feel he shivering underneath his arm, the Slytherin cast a warming charm on the pair. Hermione fondly noted that he was wearing the sweater she had bought him a few weeks ago during their excursion to Hogsmeade. They walked in silence on their way back to the castle, yet they were still ignorant of the blatant gossip amongst the swarm of students about Tom and Hermione.

Once they were inside the castle, he closed his umbrella and shook it out. Hermione, meanwhile, dried her hair and her clothing. Tom looked on and laughed to himself as he watched the Hufflepuff try to combat her hair.

"Oh, don't be mean to it. It just wants to say hello." He patted the top of her head. She stuck out her tongue in protest. "Ah, Sparky is feeling fiery today."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Because you keep calling me Tiger. And besides, it fits your personality, not to mention your hair."

"I call you Tiger because you keep calling me Sparky, and my hair is not sparky!"

"Well, then we are at a draw." They stood in silence for a moment, staring at each other intently. Tom, growing impatient, broke the quiet between them. "What would you like to call you?"

"Hermione, my first name. That's the entire purpose of a first name." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Besides, it suits me."

"Oh, so you identify with the unwanted daughter of Helen of Troy? Or do you identify with the luckless Shakespearean Queen who dies of grief?"

"It means earthly."

"It's odd."

"Yes, a bit odd, but I don't care. It's my name, and if you don't want to call me by name, then don't talk to me." She whipped her head around and began walking away.

"Andersen!" But she continued walking. "Hermione!" She turned around and smiled.

"See? Much better." She sauntered back towards him.

"You're a little minx."

"And you love it, so shush. And it's not my fault you don't like your name."

"It's so common."

"And it doesn't help that it was your f-" but he promptly cut her off.

"I know," he said darkly.

"Well, what name do you like?"

"It's stupid."

"Well, that's an odd name."

"Don't get cute with me, Hermione, you know exactly what I meant."

"I doubt that an intelligent boy like yourself would like a stupid name."

"No, you don't understand. It's a really absurd name."

"So is mine. I have no reason to judge."

"I am Lord Voldemort." He spoke in a hushed voice. She almost jumped ten feet in the air when she heard it. "See? I told you that you wouldn't like it."

"No, it's not that, it's just that…it sounds so cold and harsh."

"Matches my personality."

"Where do you get it?"

"It's an anagram of my name: Tom Maravolo Riddle."

"Personally, if you want to use anagrams, I prefer Immortal Odd Lover." He scrunched up his face in disgust. "Well, I really don't want to go around calling you Lord Voldemort, because that will just make the Gryffindors think of some kinky stuff, so… how about I call you Tiger?" He rubbed his temple, sighing in despair.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione and Tom patrolled the hallways together, walking in silence in order to catch sneaking children. The clock tower chimed eleven and they were almost done for the night. They decided to split up and do one last search around the corridors before heading to Dippet's office for their weekly report. Hermione had been away from Tom for a mere minute before a scream resounded throughout the marble hallways. Within moments, another person screamed. She rushed towards the screaming children and found two younger Hufflepuff girls being harassed by Peeves. Annie, a social first year, was as she was dangling in the air above, trying to not fall off the rocket that had blasted her up into the air. Her elder sister, Harper, was the quieter of the two. The girl was in the third year and quite sharp. She reminded Hermione quite a bit of Susan Bones the first time she met her. Harper was struggling to breathe under the stinging jinx. Without thinking, she stepped in front of the girls and froze Peeves. She quickly released Harper's stinging jinx and got Annie down. Knowing the girls were now out of harms way, she turned back to Peeves. She unfroze the poltergeist but he remained petrified under her death glare. Tom came running up behind her, prepared to unleash hell upon whoever was there when he realized Hermione had beaten him to it.

"Peeves!" Tom bellowed. He joined Hermione and stood by her side. With both of them glaring up at him, Peeves began trembling in fear. "What are you doing to those girls?" He noticed something very odd in Peeves hand. "And why do _you_ have a wand?"

"Drop it this instant!"

"I don't answer to you, yellow one."

"You will do whatever she tells you to do, and that is final." Tom commanded.

"But-"

"Peeves, do I really look like I care about how you feel about this?"

"No, sir, I-"

"Then just shut-up and listen to her."

"Yes sir." Peeves let out a great sigh. He reluctantly dropped the wand, letting it clatter to the floor.

"Why do you even have a wand?" Hermione questioned.

"It was a gift."

"Who gave this gift?"

"A Gryffindor. Didn't catch the little lion man's name though." Harper let out a sob, her scarred hands flying to her mouth.

"No, no, no, no, it can't! It can't be!"

"Do you know why this boy gave you a wand?"

"He gave me a wand because he thought I'd like one. Then, his friends paid me some galleons on the side to play a prank on 'em and his wee girly tonight. He tried to sneak out to meet with her, but I got him locked away. So when she came creeping round that corner there, I just had to wait. Littl' sis comes tromping behind and I just couldn't help myself." He stared longingly at the wand on the floor. "I can see why you all like the sticks so much-that much power is intoxicating." A smile crept onto his face.

"This is unacceptable; you could have killed them!" Her voice grew shrill.

"You can't attack anyone like that ever again. And you're to leave this family alone."

"But sir, I practically have no one to play with now!"

"We'll strike a deal. You don't attack those girls, along with the rest of the individuals I've discussed on a different occasion with you. In return, have free reign over the Gryffindors."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Thank you!" Peeves zoomed a few loops in happiness before evaporating. Hermione sent a patronus to both the Nurse's office in addition Dippet's office. In the meantime, Tom began to perform some healing charms on the victims.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Annie Dannon, and this is my sister Harper." Annie was clinging onto her sister's fragile form.

"What were you doing out so late?"

"I went to meet Billy-he'd said he had a surprise for me for our one month anniversary. Annie sleeps walks, so she must have followed me. I'm waiting by the window over there when I hear her scream. And then Peeves ambushed me and I couldn't see because of the swelling." Madame Pomfrey, Dippet, Oscar, and Eileen all ran towards them.

"My heavens!"

"Who did this monstrosity?" cried Dippet.

"Peeves." Answered Eileen and Oscar in sync. Dippet obviously hadn't paid attention to Hermione's message.

"It's been taken care of, sir. He understands the graveness of the situation and that this is his last strike."

"Good. Thank you, Tom."

Madame Pomfrey was checking their vitals. Oscar had lifted up Harper, and Tom scooped up Annie to carry her to the hospital. Once the girls were asleep in the infirmary, they trudged back to Dippet's office for a report. It was dull and typical with the exception of the attack of the girls that night. Dippet dismissed them, and the tired prefects filed down the stairs. Hermione and Tom were the last two to walk down. They walked in silence until she started to head to the kitchens. He grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving.

"You can send a full corporeal patronus?" She nodded. "Can I pay in on the favor you owe me since I'm going to teach you essence magic? Will you teach me how to perform a patronus?"

"I can't guarantee it. It requires a pure heart and a pure, happy memory."

"Oh." Tom resounded, sighing in disappointment. Hermione found herself concerned that he was upset. It turned her stomach.

"I'll see what I can do though." He looked up at her, a genuine smile playing on his lips. His eyes were glittering with an unusual spark.

"Really?" She nodded once again, offering him a small smile. "Thank you." Tom felt the urge to hug her, but that would be awkward. So he settled on a beaming smile. It made her blush, seeing him be so polite yet lively.

"Don't be thanking me yet, I haven't done anything," she teased.

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Draco waited until a quarter till twelve to sneak out of the dorms to the room of requirement. Luckily, the location was right next to Slughorn's office, which had been disclosed to him through another letter. This one was on black stationary that's words burned off the page as he read them, letting the paper slither up his arm to form a wristwatch set for midnight.

He slipped into the room and found himself in total darkness. He attempted to use his wand to create a light, but it would not work. He shuffled forward, trying to find a wall or chair to hold onto to and only found disappointment. At midnight, his watch chimed and proceeded to turn into ash. A neon green light began to glow at the end of what appeared to be a passage. Draco blindly stumbled towards it, having to shield his eyes from the intensity of the marker.

"We've been waiting for you, Draco." And the lights flickered out.

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That Sunday, Hermione woke up early to take a walk around the grounds. She enjoyed the mists of the woods and the solitude. On her way back to the castle, she noticed a grubby man chopping some of the hedges. He was loudly whistling a muggle pub tune. As she walked past, he looked up and waved 'hello'. Much to her astonishment, it was a young Hagrid.

"Mornin'."

"Good morning." Hermione started walking farther up the path when Hagrid called after her.

"You're the new girl, right? The stray Riddle took in?" She raised an eyebrow. Hagrid's phrasing was rather odd. "Well, ignore me for the rest of me life if ya must, but just listen to this nugget: be careful around 'im. Wouldn't trust 'im farther than I could throw 'im." Having recalled the false accusations that led to Hagrid's explosion, she could understand his anger. But this Hagrid was so vastly different from the uncle-like friend who had helped Harry. He seemed angry and imposing. It would obviously take him a long time to heal from this serious blow, in addition to the death of his father in the second year.

Once inside the safety of the castle, Hermione headed upstairs to the hospital. She found Harper drawing in a little notebook. Annie had been released a day before her sister.

"How are you doing Harper?" Hermione sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm feeling better, but still not 100%."

"What are you drawing?"

"The hospital wing. I like drawing from my surroundings."

"What's your medium?"

"I love charcoal, but I'm using a pencil at the moment." She turned the drawing around for Hermione to look at. As the older girl admired it in silence, the younger girl leaned in. "I never got to thank you for saving me."

"That was mostly Tom."

"But you were the one who got Peeves to stop. Thank you." Hermione offered her a smile. "I always feel so defenseless, like I have to rely on Billy or prefects for protection. You, on the other hand, just seem so independent and confident."

"I used to feel defenseless when I was younger against bullies."

"How did you stop feeling that way?"

"I took control of my life and learned how to defend myself."

"I wouldn't know where to start when it came to learning about that."

"I could teach you some basics, if you wanted to."

"Would you? I know there are plenty of other Hufflepuffs who would be interested. We've all been discussing asking you to tutor us for ages, but we sort of wigged out."

"I'd love to." And for the first time, Hermione saw Harper look hopeful.


	20. Chapter 19: Doubles and Vows

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 19: Doubles and Vows**_

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"Today, we are going to be learning about patronuses." The excitement could be felt all over the classroom. As Merrythought explained what a patronus was and how it worked, the students silently deliberated what their patronuses would be. All but one of them eagerly anticipated discovering their patronus. The one lone soul sat in her usual spot in the second row of the classroom by the window, which she was currently gazing out of.

At the end of her lecture, Professor Merrythought split her students into pairs. Everyone but Hermione got up to find their partner; she was still staring out of the window, watching Hagrid carry a sickly young sapling to the greenhouse. Many of the new plants were drowning in the torrential downpours of March rains.

"Hermione?" Someone tapped her shoulder. She looked up, startled, only to find Emmet. "Did you find a centaur out there?" She shook her head 'no'. "Oh, well, that's a pity. I know there's a few in there. They really are wonderful creatures."

"Yes, they are." Hermione answered, still in a fog.

"So, are you ready to start working on our patronuses?" Emmet asked, bringing her attention back to the classroom. Hermione nodded, and the two began to work. The young Hufflepuff tried to focus all her energy on helping Emmet, but he didn't need much assistance.

"Expecto Patronum," he whispered into the chilly air of the classroom as a wispy blue Great Horned Owl flew out of his wand. When Hermione asked what happy though had inspired him, he answered, "The first time I went to a library, as silly as that sounds. I was three or four, but I'd never been so happy."

"Hermione, don't you want to try?" Emmet asked. Hermione attempted to contain her anxiety; she was nervous about producing a corporeal patronus in front of the entire class. But in a flash, Tom was at her side with Draco not too far behind.

"We'll do it together." He whispered into the air behind her. She recalled their training session together earlier that week. Hermione had prepped Tom for all the necessary elements of the patronus, as well as warning him about how his darkness may prevent it from occurring. He had barely produced a non-corporeal patronus, much to his frustration. "Show me how you do it," Tom insisted after a few hours of rigorous practice. The Hufflepuff reluctantly performed the spell, somehow prompting Tom to dig deep and determine that he _needed_ to be able to perform a full corporeal patronus too.

Standing shoulder to shoulder by the windows in the Defense Against the Darks Arts Class, she felt a little more confident in herself. "On the count of three?" he asked her. She nodded before she squared her shoulders and went into a dueling stance. Tom modeled after her. "One."

"Two." The whole classroom fell into silence, or at least, that's what they felt at that moment. Hermione could only hear her rapidly beating heart, and Tom only heard Hermione's hitched breathing.

"Three . . ." They took a moment to grab their fondest memories and clutch them as tightly as their souls could. "Expecto Patronum!" They shouted, and a rush of cold air swirled around them. Hermione's otter automatically appeared, swimming around the classroom. To her amazement, as well as Tom's, a raven flew out too and was swirling around the otter.

The classroom burst into a bedlam of applause and praise.

"Well done, very well done! Twenty points to both Slytherin and Hufflepuff. And don't think I forgot about you my dear," Merrythought chattered while cupping Emmet's face. "Another twenty for Ravenclaw, since Mr. Bones performed such a wonderful patronus." Emmet blushed and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. Tom was acting humble, but inside he felt like he was soaring. Hermione's reaction was more along the lines of Emmet's.

From a few feet away, Draco was fuming. Why had she performed a patronus with Tom of all people? As he grumbled to himself, Professor Merrythought continued. "Hermione, I'm so glad that you are _finally_ showing off those skills." In a lower voice, the old woman murmured, "I know you were hiding. But the sun will always emerge from behind dark shadows, eh?"

Emmet praised. "That was brilliant Hermione!" Glancing over at Tom, he said, "Same goes to you, Riddle," with much less enthusiasm.

"Likewise." Tom offered out his hand, and the two boys shook hands. Hermione glanced over at Draco, who was furiously waving his wand trying to command the charm. She noticed then, for the third time that week, that his face was once again covered in subtle scratches.

The teacher soon drew the Hufflepuff back into the conversation. "Now, I don't want to ruin the biggest surprise in my curriculum, but we will soon be learning pair dueling. Hermione and Tom, I would love to have you too pair up for that. A perfect match, really." The young students glanced at each other and couldn't help but smile.

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Later, on the way to the Room of Requirement, Tom was going through a mental highlight reel in his mind of the whole event. Lost in his thoughts, Hermione was unnerved not by the silence but by the pure glee on his face. It seemed unnatural on him, almost comical in a strange sense.

Tom didn't open his mouth until they were within the safety of the Tree.

"That was beyond words. I've never been so happy before in my life!"

"I know, you're blinding me with your smile." She joked.

"I just want to live that moment over and over again."

"What memory did you use that made it so powerful?" She asked, moving to her favorite arm chair.

"This," he said, gesturing around him. "The Tree, the books, the power." He mumbled something else immediately after, but Hermione couldn't quite catch it. Unknown to her, Tom had actually uttered, 'you', but he would never admit that to her. Not yet anyway.

"Well, I'm glad it worked for you." He joined her in an adjacent chair.

"I was expecting it to be a snake or some sort."

"It actually does make sense. Did you know that ravens are often associated with death? And in French, Voldemort translates into flight of death. So, put the two together and there you have it."

Tom began to fiddle with the Marvolo ring on his finger. "That's interesting."

"So the real question is, are you flying from death or to it?" He was tack aback.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I can feel the darkness radiating off of you Tom. You've obviously been involved with a wide variety of curses and dark magick. It's not something to be ashamed of though," she reassured him. "We have all tried spells and performed them in self-defense. It's when you use them to purposefully harm others that it can start to control your life."

"That's not a problem for me."

"But perhaps it is for your group. Oh, don't look so shocked! I know you have your posse of 'friends', or whatever you call them, and they reek of the exact same black magick as you. I just fear that they don't have the knowledge or maturity to hide it as well as you."

"I assure you, all of my friends are safe and sound."

"Draco sure as hell isn't."

"Oh, do you mean the scratches on his chin? He had a terrible fall while he was on the pitch scrimmaging with the Gryffindors. If you ask me, I think they play dirty, but we can't prove it yet."

"Listen, I'm not going to report you for whatever it is you're doing to those boys, but I won't have Draco involved in it. He's been through so much tragedy these past few years, he doesn't need any more emotional scaring."

"Why wouldn't you tell?"

"That's for me to explain at a later time. All you need to know right now is that I know most of the scoop on your Knights, and that I will run straight to Dumbledore and expose you if you induct Draco."

"Alright." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Alright? Just alright?"

"Yes. You made your terms very clear and I'm complying with them."

"I want a vow. You know which one I'm talking about." They stood up at the same time.

"Someone will need to administer the vow; of course, it can't be one of us."

"The Tree will do it. We're in the Room of Requirement after all." Hermione was right. As soon as they clasped hands, the branches inside the tree came to life wrapped around their wrists like barbed wire.

"Will you, Tom, make sure that my friend, Draco, will not be asked to join the Knights of Walpurgis, the group which you lead?"

"I will. And will you, Hermione, not expose my operations to Professor Dumbledore as long as I fulfill your end of the bargain?"

"I will." The tree wire burned then, searing in a bright flash of light before crumbling into ashes and falling to the floor. The small circle around her wrist felt like it had been there forever.

"We should go, it's almost time for lunch." Tom picked up his satchel off of the floor and started to leave. Hermione rushed to his side, proud of herself for protecting Draco.

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Jonathan was walking out of the stadium from a particularly grueling Quidditch practice when he heard heavy footsteps behind him. He turned around, only to see the oaf Hagrid carrying a squirming sack of something or other. Comforted by this, Jonathan continued up the hill to the castle. Today was going to be brilliant. His team was going to stomp Gryffindor the next day, he had a date with Jane later that afternoon, and he did not have to run an initiation meeting that night. Tom had always said that Jonathan was his conscience, but in reality, he was simply the brawns of the operation. During all of the recruitments, it was Jonathan who had to torture the possible members, Jonathan who had to listen to their cries, and Jonathan who had to scrub the blood off his hands. Once the boys were official members, they were stunned when they learned that it was Tom, not Jonathan, who ruled the group.

Deep in his thoughts, Jonathan didn't hear another pair of footsteps behind him. It wasn't until someone grabbed his shoulder that he was aware of the other person.

"We need to talk." Draco sneered into the older boy's ear.

"What do you want, d'Arc?" Jonathan turned around to face the younger boy, who had shockingly similar appearance to that of Abraxas Malfoy.

"You promised me you'd help me get back Hermione."

"Did I?" Jonathan asked coolly.

"Yes you promised, but you haven't paid up."

"I agreed to help you if she was interested, but she's not."

"Well, if you had kept Tom away from her, this wouldn't have been an issue."

"You're blaming Tom for her lack of attraction to you?"

"Of course!"

"Then perhaps you need to do some introspection and look at yourself."

"What are you saying, Avery?"

"I'm telling you that it's your behavior towards her that makes you undesirable. You toy with her feelings, and no girl should have to go through that."

"But it's Tom who is toying with her, not me!"

"Tom? Really? In all seriousness?"

"Yes. Why, do you believe otherwise?"

"I don't believe, I know. He's asexual."

"He's a wha-?"

"He's not interested in anyone romantically."

"But he must be using her for other reasons."

"Possibly. I can't read his mind, but he doesn't seem to wish her any ill-will though."

"But! But…"

"But nothing. Like I said, I think you need to do so serious self-reflection."

"Why?"

"Because you must have gone through a lot of trouble in your life to feel the need to push her away and then be in denial about it." And with that, Jonathan left Draco on the hill.

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_Hermione was washing her hands in the girl's bathroom when she noticed the sink was splattered with something red. Looking down at her own hands, she saw that they were covered in blood. The iron serpent facet head was stained with blood was well. Hermione tried to scrub the blood off of her hands, but it was to no avail. The girl felt a sinking feel that she was responsible for this. By merely touching the facet, the sink opened the passage into the deep and terrifying chambers that lay far beneath the school._

_Hermione ran into the Chamber of Secrets, crying out for her friends. She heard nothing but her own footsteps running through the puddles of the chamber. Looking down at the floor, she saw that it too was covered in a deep crimson. The dark magic was radiating off the rock walls and filling her with dread. At the end of the chamber, close to the wall-consuming sculpture of Salazar when she saw a burst of orange hair. As Hermione approached the body, she found Ron lying on the floor, his back to the ceiling. She crouched down and shook his shoulders, but he wouldn't move, wouldn't breathe. The brunette was overcome by the pungent smell of blood and decay. It wasn't until she moved away from Ron to throw up that she saw the others. Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Remus, Tonks, Sirius. They were all laying on the floor, scattered about like abandoned dolls. Many were missing body parts. _

_Hermione crawled backwards, away from all of the chaos. She rested her head against the cold stone wall, shutting her eyes and willing the dead away. But every time she opened up her eyes there were more and more bodies. Dobby. Dumbledore. Mad-eye. McGonagall. Flitwick. It was when she finally saw her parents stacked on top of the slowly growing pile of bodies that Hermione became hysterical with grief. She couldn't see anymore; her tears had temporarily impaired her vision. _

_The scar on her arm began to burn more than it ever had before. She scratched and scratched, trying to peel away the invisible bugs that felt like they were crawling all over her skin. Hermione's "Mudblood" scar had disappeared, but a new phrase had taken its place. "Your fault"._

_A hand cupped her tearful face and titled her chin up. "It was only a matter of time until you knew." She looked up and saw Harry's bloody face staring down at her. She blinked and his face became Draco's. "If you had never been allowed at Hogwarts, none of them would have suffered." And Draco's face faded into Tom's. "My little fool. My little problem child." _

Hermione sat up in bed, adrenaline racing through her veins. She had broken out in a cold sweat, and her pajamas were soaked. She stared in wonder at her hands, which, to her astonishment, were not covered in blood. Trying her best not to wake her roommates, Hermione crept out of bed and made the long journey to the clinic where she could find a dreamless sleep drought.

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It was on her way out of the Hospital wing that she spotted Draco as he was headed in. Unlike usual, his head was downcast, his frame slouched.

"Good morni-" But as he looked up, she gasped in horror. "Oh my Godric's Hollow! Draco, what happened? Are you alright?"

"Hermione, calm down, I'm fine."

"Fine? You're 'fine'? Your face is every shade of the rainbow, your eyes look like they've been attacked by a Cornish Pixie, and you're bleeding!"

"Am I bleeding?" He touched the corner of his blistered lips, which were split and battered.

"Yes!" She yelled in a whisper. She dragged him by the arm into the infirmary and sat him on a bed before rushing to the supply cabinet to fetch him any medication she could. After a patching him up, she sat down on the bed beside him. "What's going on with you lately?"

"Me? The same stuff as usual."

"Liar. Something's bothering you, and you aren't telling me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to go to you with all of my issues."

"See? You're doing it again. Whenever anyone gets too emotionally close, you push them away."

"That's not what I'm trying to do." Draco said with a sigh.

"I know. But you also need to know that I'm on your side; I'm not going to judge you or chastise you about any of this stuff."

"I know, but you won't understand any of it."

"Of course I would! We're in the same boat here. A completely different time with strange new people." She moved closer to him on the bed and grabbed his hand.

"In that sense yes, but in every other way, no. You have no clue what I have gone through or what I am _still_ going through. You can pretend you do, but you'll never fully grasp at it."

"But I want to understand! I want to help you. Muggles have a pretty good saying. 'Do not judge another man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.'"

"You won't be able to help judging me if I tell you. I have done some unspeakable things." Draco tried to grab her shoulder, but he impulsively reached to trace her scar instead.

"So have I." She caught his hand mid-movement and held it there

"If I tell you…" He trailed off. His fingers slipped out of her grasp and his hands fell into his lap.

"If you tell me?"

"I will break down and tell you everything. Like a dam of water exploding when the wall ruptures. And no person should have to deal with all of that emotional baggage."

"Everyone has baggage, Draco."

"I feel like if I tell you, it will just show how broken I am inside." Hermione faltered for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"It's tough not having your parents, huh?" Draco nodded solemnly. "No one to guide you between right and wrong." Another silent nod followed. "This is all about Voldemort, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"I've been recruited to join the Knights."

"How long have they been trying to recruit you?"

"I would suspect as early as January." Hermione's hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh my god."

"I know."

"What are we going to do?"

"We? What do you mean 'we'?"

"Do you think I'm just going to let you be dragged off like a child by those wolves? We're in this together!"

"No, I'm not getting you involved in this."

"Too late." She crossed her arms in protest.

"Well, I do have a plan. . . I'm going to take him down from the inside."

"We shouldn't alter the timeline more than we already have."

"That's the point though! It's because of that bastard that my father was in jail, and then Aunt Bella went mad."

"We can't risk it."

"So what? We're just going to let him ruin the wizarding world?"

"If we want to get back home…"

"But we can make that home a better place by getting rid of him!"

"Or there could be no home to go back to."

"I have to do _something_. I refuse to let that monster rip my family apart."

"Just give me time, and we'll figure it all out."

"It has to be me. Only I can bring him down."

"Stop trying to martyr yourself, honestly."

"I'm not. I just refuse to let him manipulate you too."

"I can handle myself Draco."

"If he's doing what I think he is, then you won't be able to."

"And what do you think he's plotting?"

He grabbed both of her shoulders and looked her square in the eye. "Have you been feeling ill at all? Having weird dreams you can't explain?"

She hesitated. "Yes."

"Then my worst fears are true. He's using you to make me stay." He moved one hand up to cup her cheek.

"Why would he do that? That doesn't make any sense. As far as he knows, you're a loyal companion and we aren't an item."

"He knows how powerful you are. And if he can somehow manipulate it to his power, it may put you at risk." He moved away all of the sudden, now gazing out of the window instead.

"It doesn't make sense. He's been actually acting like a normal human being around me."

He talked to her while still looking out the window. "That's what I thought too, at first. But he's a master manipulator."

"To keep you in the Knights? That's illogical."

"Fear is the biggest motivator in the world."

"No. Something just isn't right in this scenario."

His head whipped around so fast Hermione feared it would have twisted off. "He's using you!" Draco blurted out. She gawked at him for a moment. He whispered his next words, "He's messing with our heads, and I just don't want you to trust him the way my parents did. I just want you to be careful around him, okay?" She nodded her head solemnly, but in the back of her mind, she had this itching sensation that there was more to this situation than they knew.

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"Riddle?" She stormed into the practice room within the tree of knowledge. Raising her voice, she called out, "Riddle, we need to talk; now."

"I'm right here, there's no need to screech." He was standing in the center of the room, trying to form an icy bubble. "Since when did you go back to using last names?"

"Since you broke our deal!" In a flash, Hermione let out a fireball and ruptured the ice. The shards scattered all over the library floor. "You asked Draco to join the Knights."

"Oh, I did nothing of the sort. Draco had no choice in the matter. And besides, he was brought in before the Unbreakable Vow, so I didn't break it. You can't go crying to Dumbledore about it." He couldn't have sounded more bored and at ease, and it set Hermione on edge.

"Damn you!" Her fingers curled into the palms of her hands, digging in crescent marks as she tried her best not to punch him.

"You really should have been more careful with your wording, Sparky." It was then that Hermione lost control and punched Tom square in the jaw.

"I trusted you!" His eyes narrowed into slits as he rubbed his jaw. He hadn't been hit since that summer with the caves by Billy.

"Well, aren't you the fool?" He spat back at her. "I'm a Slytherin, remember, dear? The only thing you can trust about me is my vengeance."

"Why couldn't you have chosen some other dolt?"

"I need someone to replace Jonathan as my secondhand. Someone who can both listen and lead. Someone who is ethical, logical, but capable of brutality."

"Why did it have to be Draco of all people?"

"He already had the darkness in his soul. I could sense it the moment I met him. All he needed was a nudge in the right direction."

"I can't let you do this to him. I will not let him suffer again."

"It's sweet that you care, but you can't help him now." Tom began to walk away, heading for the door.

"There has to be something I can do! Please Tom!" He turned his head around to stare back at her.

"What was that?"

"Please Tom, I'm begging you. I'll do anything to make sure he's not inducted."

"Anything, you say?"

"Yes."

"Well," he mused, ". . . there's not really anything or anyone I want at the moment . . ."

"Think! There must be _something_ you want, right?"

Tom pretended to ponder for a few moments as the fear on Hermione's face grew. "I'll let Draco go on one condition."

"Name it."

"Just giving you fair warning: this will be a life-alerting decision and you'll most likely want to discuss it with d'Arc. So, I'm giving you until sundown to decide. You'll meet me then at the Astronomy Tower and tell me your decision. Should you not show, Draco will continue with his membership and will be punished for your indecisiveness."

"But what is it Tom? What is it we're bartering here?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Hermione shook her head 'no'. "You, of course."

"Me?"

Tom smiled like the Cheshire Cat-all teeth but with no emotion in his eyes. "Yes, Hermione, you."

"You mean you want me to-"

"-Take his place." Tom finished for her. She stumbled back into an armchair, clutching onto it for dear life. He glanced at the clock and ignored her astonishment. "You have seven hours. Don't disappoint me."

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I'm an inconsistent updater, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for not updating for about four months.

Happy Holidays!

-WNAH12


	21. Chapter 20: Tunnels

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 20: Tunnels**_

The lovely reviewers of the last chapter:

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Obey the Muse

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Harry and Ron arrived in the Egyptian Embassy and were greeted with a rather stern looking wizard.

"Are you the dimwits who lost your friend?" Ron started to make a snarky comment, but Harry smacked him in the stomach.

"Yep, that's us." The man gave a long sigh.

"Follow me then." The teenagers followed the older man in an unsettling silence.

"I haven't been to Egypt since the summer of third year." Ron mused. But Harry was beginning to panic.

"Where is everyone? This place looks like a ghost town."

"That's because you are in the basement of the Ministry, Mr. Potter. We specialized your transportation here. This operation is a secret. Only a fool would deliberately seek out the Library of Alexandria." The man answered in a terse manner as he led them down a dark corridor. At the very end, there was a door that had an eerie green light glowing from behind it.

When they reached the door, the man stopped.

"This is as far as I can go. You'll need to open this door and walk down the steps. From there, you'll have to find your own way. Typically, I would tell you that I would see you soon, but the odds are that this is the one and only time you'll ever see me. The Library is very particular about who it lets in, and even pickier about who it lets out. I wish you the best of luck in finding your friend." The man walked away without another word, not even bothering to shake their hands.

"Let's start, shall we?" Harry asked Ron. His best friend nodded, and Harry pushed the door open.

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The stairs were made of marble and built in a narrow spiral pattern. The walls around the stairwell were shining metal. As Harry and Ron crept down the stairs, the lights began to flicker and the art on the walls morphed too. With each flight of stairs, a mirage of that century's art was displayed. Color photography of the 1970s, the black and white photography of the 1940s, the art deco of the 1920s, Cubism, Art Nouveau, Impressionism, the Romantics' art, Rococo, Baroque, the Frescos, the medieval paintings, it was all there, concealed within the walls of this stairwell. By the time they had reached the Medieval times, the lights had gone out, and they turned to their wands for guidance. By the blue glow of their wands, they could begin to see the hieroglyphics on the wall, but they too faded. When the stairs stopped, they found nothing but a cold, moist wall.

"What the bloody hell? There's no door!"

"There is a door," Harry replied, feeling for any odd bumps on the wall, "we just don't know where it is."

"We need to find it."

"No, we can't look for it. We have to ask it to let us in."

"In the name of Godric! This is becoming ridiculous: we're asking a library to let us in."

"It's just like the Room of Requirement. It's a living, breathing thing that needs to be respected." _So please, _Harry thought to himself, _please let us in_. A golden door appeared within the wall and swung open. _Thank you! _Harry slowly began to walk into the corridor, but turned around when he heard Ron yelling. Ron stood by the door frame, banging his hand on what appeared to be an invisible wall. _And please let Ron in. He didn't mean to insult you._ A burst of air zoomed through the corridor, and Ron tumbled to the floor. _Thank you_, Harry mentally added. He waited for Ron to catch up to him before he continued walking. The corridor felt like it belonged in a cave, with its stalagmites and stalactites and odd puddles of goo. For Harry, it reminded him of the cave he had gone to with Dumbledore that fateful night where the elder man had died.

"Bit spooky in here, ain't it?" The walls of the cave rumbled in response. "In a nice way, I mean!" Ron added, trying to appease the library. The two friends soon found a river that split into two branches within the cavern. "Which do we follow?" Ron asked. Harry studied the rocks of the riverbed before pointing to the one on the right. "This stream has smaller rocks. See? They're more crushed and look like pebbles."

"So, we follow the pebbles?"

"Just the opposite. This seems to be the path most others took, and we already know most other don't even make it to the Library." So Harry shouldered his bag and began walking, with Ron right behind him. It wasn't long before something went wrong though. The river they had taken they split into two separate, smaller rivers.

Harry knew to continue walking towards the left, but in the distance, Ron began to hear a soft lullaby. As they grew closer to the fork in the river, the song only grew more beautiful and enchanting. Suddenly, Ron realized it was the woman calling out his name, and he pushed past Harry to blindly follow the song, slowly heading into the right river, which was slowly growing foggy. Harry reached out and grabbed Ron by the arm, pulling him back to the bank. "Ron! You have to cover your ears!"

Ron, still hypnotized, could not do so, causing Harry to have to create ear mufflers for him. Harry pulled Ron along to the left and didn't stop until Ron was able to walk on his own.

"What do you think it is?" Ron asked, still sleepy.

"It's 'El Naddaha'. They're Arabic sirens."

"A siren?" Ron asked, stretching his arms out while he yawned.

"They lured men traveling in pairs near the Nile and would try to summon and drown one of the men." What Harry didn't tell Ron was that the man called to was typically unfaithful in a relationship, whether physically or emotionally, and that the man would forever be doomed.

"How do you know all of this?"

"The Dursleys used to give Dudley history books for car rides. He didn't like them, so they were tossed at me. I would have worn those copies ragged, but when Uncle Vern found out I liked them, he burnt them in the fireplace when I wouldn't shovel the driveway during a blizzard."

"Oh." Ron's mouth formed a perfect oblong oval. The pair wandered in uneasy silence, with Harry as navigator. Before his eyes, he was seeing a large underground maze appear, and the rivers and streams were their roads. Harry tried his best to always go left, but it was hard to do with Ron always questioning him.

He constantly heard the redhead say, "Mate, are you sure we shouldn't go this way? This tunnel has more light!" or, "This river has fish in it, let's eat!" It took a while to convince (5 forked rivers later) that the fish fed the monsters that guarded those rivers. They were currently fighting a serpopard, a fearsome leopard with the long, scaly neck of a snake. The creature lunged out to snap out Ron, but Harry fired a stunning charm.

"How was I supposed to know that those fish weren't for me?" Harry pulled Ron up while the creature was dazed.

"By the green paw prints. Honestly Ron."

"You're starting to sound like her, you know." Ron deflected a wave of venomous spit the creature spat at them.

"Well, somebody has to be your conscience." Harry sent out a fire ball to ward it off as he was walking back to his desired path. Ron stopped dead in his tracks.

"You know, if you don't like the way I do things, you can bug off. I'll go look for Hermione on my own."

"You'd die in here."

"I did pretty fine on my own last year when I went off, didn't I?"

"Yeah, well, the winter didn't want to eat you."

"Fine. Let's get out of here. The faster we get there the less time I have to spend time with you." Ron stayed two steps behind Harry, purposefully walking on the backs of his feet. Harry would typically try to resolve his issue with Ron, but Hermione's life could be at stake now. They continued searching through the tunnels, fighting off minor monsters. It felt like hours had passed before they reached the center.

The center of the cavern maze looked like an older version of the room of requirement. In one corner, there were a series of crashed planes, pirate ships, and submarines. In another corner, there were towers of boxes filled tea, jewelry, art, weapons, and lots of other trinkets. The center of the maze there were three portals on rickety rock platforms that sat on an island in the middle of the river. The island itself was covered in gold; gold coins, gold goblets, gold swords, gold everything. Each portal was made of brittle and jagged rock with hieroglyphic writings all around the rim. But upon closer inspection, Harry could have sworn the one on the left looked like The Veil.

"So, we just choose a door then?"

"I guess," Harry shrugged. As they waded through the waters to approach the island, Harry began to hear voices. The water was much deeper than they had expected. They weren't even a quarter of the way in yet and the water was touching Harry's ribcage. At first, he thought it was the portal on the left, but he soon realized that they were coming from the water.

"Is it just me, or is the water chattering?" Ron joked. Before Harry could even respond, something grabbed his foot and pulled him under. "Harry!" Ron screamed out. Unlike his friend, Ron had no idea what he was battling against. The Inferi, hundreds of them, were digging their nails into Harry and dragging him deeper and deeper into the river. Ron dove under and tried to grab Harry, but the Inferi shoved him aside. He swam back to the surface to take a gulp of air. But new Inferi from a different part of the river had spotted the redhead, and they raced towards him in a furious frenzy. All too soon, both friends were being drowned in the foreign waters.

Harry was struggling to grab his wand as the Inferi pinned his arms behind him. Just as he was starting to get fog in his brain, one Inferi lost a hold of him and knocked into a few on her side, allowing Harry to move his arm. Without any hesitation, Harry sent a spell that propelled him out of the water and onto the island. He searched and searched for Ron, but couldn't find him anywhere. Since he couldn't just 'accio' Ron, Harry was forced to use repetitive fire spells on the swarms of Inferi. After setting almost the whole river on fire, Ron's body emerged from the water. Ron, gasping for air, tried to tread his way over to Harry as quickly as possible while avoiding the zombie-like creatures.

Just as Ron got near the shore, Harry ran to him and pulled him out, kicking a straggling Inferi in the face that was clinging to Ron's foot. The pair trudged up the island of gold towards the three portals before they collapsed on the ground.

"Well, that was fun." Harry said in a flat voice. Ron leaned his head back and gazed up at the three portals.

"Which one do we choose?"

"Not the one on the left; it's like the Veil in the Department of Mysteries."

"How about the one on the right?"

"If I'm right, that's the Sun Gate."

"Sun Gate?" Ron asked.

"The god Aker guards the Sun Gate, welcoming the dawn each morning and the evening each night. You can see his image on the steps leading up to it. He's the two lions sitting back to back."

"So, dawn on one side, night on the other?"

"I think so."

"Why don't we just go in that one then?"

"Time jump. You go into the recent past or recent future."

"We can just use that to save Hermione then!"

"We physically sent her back using the oldest type of known magic. It can't be stopped, only undone. Plus, the gates are supposed to guard tombs and palaces. We'd be walking into someone's burial and intimate death."

"So it's the middle door for us-" but Harry cut Ron off.

"Shh! Do you hear that?" Harry sat up suddenly, looking startled. From the other side of the island, the Boy Who Lived could hear a low rumbling and the rustling of gold.

"Hear what?" Ron grumbled. But just then, they heard the rapid fluttering of wings, and the sound of a very heavy mass lifting off of the golden ground. They only had a mere moment to glance at each other before _the thing_ came sweeping down towards them.

"DRAGON!" Harry screamed, and he ducked as the winged beast flew over his head. He scrambled over to Ron while the dragon flew around the middle portal. "We have to make it to the door. It's our only way of getting out!" Ron nodded in fearful compliance. "On the count of three." Harry counted aloud, but he could barely hear himself over the angry flapping of the dragon's wings. At three, they both launched forward and ran in a mad dash to the door.

When they were almost there, something very curious happened. Some force within the cavern sent them back to their original starting positions on the island, with the dragon swooping down on them. They diverged, each running their own path around the dragon and to the door. The dragon chased Ron first, chasing him towards the Sun Door. Once again, upon nearing the door, Ron was swept back to his first point on the island. The dragon was very upset, roaring and sending out fiery flames. Harry was almost near the middle door when he looked back and saw Ron, who had been badly burnt by the flames and was struggling to even walk. With the door mere steps away, Harry ran back to his best friend.

Harry was supporting Ron and almost carrying him. He shouted, "I know how the doors work now. Only one of us can go through at a time." Harry tried to go as fast as possible, but it was hard when he was dragging Ron. The dragon had disappeared for the time being, distracted by something only it could see. As they neared the barrier that would bounce them back, Harry pushed Ron forward.

"Go. I'll take care of the dragon."

"I'm not going without you mate."

"Only one of us can go, and it has to be you." Harry gave Ron another shove forward. "You have to make it right Ron. Bring her back."

"I don't know how." Ron broke down.

"You'll find a way; you have to." Harry drew him in for a hug. Both were too proud to apologize, but in that moment, their regrets were communicated without words. In the intensity of their parting, the dragon dived down towards them, mouth open and about to extinguish a fireball big enough to burn them to a crisp. Both looked up, the dragon mere meters from them, and . . . . .

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A.N.: Another cliffhanger? What else did you expect? Did you really think I was going to leave you satisified? Ha! Don't worry, Harry and Ron will be "taken care of" in the next chapter, and you'll be hearing from Tom and the gang shortly after.


	22. Chapter 21: A Soul for a Soul

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 21: A Soul for a Soul**_

The lovely reviewers of the last chapter:

hateme101

just ana (twice! Whoopie!)

DauntlessSlytherinTribute

Lorna Potter

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_Both looked up, the dragon mere meters from them, and . . . . ._

They heard a harsh voice calling out, "Eustace!" The fearsome dragon turned around, suddenly becoming subservient and guilty. From the distance, they could see a man striding towards them from the middle door. "Eustace, what have I told you about eating visitors?" The dragon, like a dog, bent his head down. "Visitors are guests, not food." The man had his hands on his hips, and Harry could see that this man's thick head of grey hair had started to turn white by his temples. "Now, run along. Your mother's expecting you." He petted the dragon along its snout, making the dragon wag his tail.

"You'll have to forgive me for Eustace's manners. He's still a baby really, only 345 years old." The dragon flew into the middle door and disappeared from sight. Harry and Ron glanced at each other, quite unsure of what to think of this strange man who considered a fearsome dragon a baby. "I'm EB by the way." He offered his hand.

"Harry." The boy who lived took the man's hand and shook it.

"Ron." The ginger modeled Harry's gesture.

"Oh, I know who you two are. Everyone does!" The older man chuckled. "Pleasure to meet you both."

"Um, EB, what is it exactly that you do?" Harry asked.

"I'm the Librarian." Harry had to contain a chuckle; EB sounded like a cheesy muggle comic-book hero. In a graver voice, EB commanded, "Follow me, please." He led the way towards the middle portal. At the steps of the door, the man stopped in his tracks. "There's a lot of walking ahead, and you're both injured. My wife will patch you both up before you start researching Parselmagic."

"How did you know that's what we're here for?" Ron asked.

"I'm the Librarian, I make it a point to know everything. Especially when it concerns one Hermione Granger." EB whistled into the portal, but to what the boys weren't sure.

"You know Hermione?" Just then, they heard the rustling of fabric. To their amazement, it was a flying rug swooping down towards them. It lowered itself down to the ground, and EB hopped on.

"I knew her, yes. Years and years ago. Hop on, it's ok. The carpet won't bite." Harry and Ron gingerly stepped on the carpet and held onto each other with white knuckles as the carpet lifted off and flew through the portal. Ron was still bleeding, and the blood was pumping out faster than Harry could prevent it.

"Harry, I'm gonna nod off for a bit, I'm sleepy."

"We're almost there kid, hang on." EB told them, but Ron's vision was growing fuzzy, and he soon blacked out. 

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Ron blinked his eyes open in slow succession, allowing himself to adjust to the harsh light of a candelabrum over his head. He tried to sit up, but a strong hand pushed his shoulder back down.

"You're not strong enough yet, Ron Weasley." Ron blinked a few times before he saw an older Indian woman observing him. Just then, EB entered the room.

"Ah, you're awake! Welcome back to the Land of the Living." Ron tried to sit up again this time in a panic.

"Where's Harry?"

"I'm right here," his best friend emerged from behind the billowing curtains that served as a door for the room.

"How long have I been out?" Ron rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned.

"A couple of hours." The woman remarked as she drank a cup of tea from her chair.

"Oh, let me introduce you boys to my wife. Ron and Harry, this is my wife Neela. Neela, this is two thirds of the Golden Trio."

"Hello." She smiled kindly at them and put her tea cup down so she could grab more medicine for Ron. "Where are the boys?" She asked her husband

"Chandra is taking care of the dragons and Renu is checking the locks in the forbidden sections." Ron's stomach growled and EB let out a hearty laugh. "Looks like someone's got his appetite back. C'mon, we'll take a walk to the kitchen."

"Make sure you eat this with your supper," Neela handed Ron a vial of thick purple liquid. "This will help your wounds recover faster and will increase the blood cells in your body."

"Thank you." Harry helped Ron get up and they joined EB on a walk.

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"So," Ron started, wiping the last of his sandwich from his face, "what did I miss?"

"We found an entire wing of the library that's strictly on parselmagic."

"But there's a catch." EB signed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm losing my ability to speak parseltongue."

"How? Harry, you've been speaking it since you were a kid."

"My ability was directly connected to Voldemort. Now that I no longer have part of his soul, it's slowly fading from me. I can't speak it anymore-we tried earlier while you were asleep. I can still read it, but…"

"If we're using magic to bring her back, I'll need to cast the spell."

"Sorry mate." Harry clapped him on the back.

"Well," Ron said as he stood up, "Let's go get her back."

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"Welcome to…the Library of Alexandria!" EB bellowed in a game show host like voice.

"Why is it hidden so far down?" Harry asked as the trio strolled through the rows of books.

"After the Library burned down the first time, the wizards and muggles who wanted to protect the library banded together. So they put it where no one would expect a building; in the ground."

"Shouldn't everyone know where this stuff is?" Ron asked.

"Some things are better left forgotten, Mr. Weasley." Ron walked ahead and out of site.

"What kind of things?" Harry asked.

"There are forces, dark forces, that infest our world. Even darker than Voldemort and his horcruxes. You would be surprised to discover just how many items these forces can infect." Far away from the other two men, Ron found a shelf filled with scrolls in parseltongue.

"Like a book?" Harry offered.

"Books are knowledge, and knowledge is power. If you give a certain kind of knowledge, certain types of power will follow. Do you understand?" Ron glanced at the scrolls, trying to decipher what each seal type meant.

"So dark magic finds other powerful hosts to cling to?"

"Yes." EB took off his glasses for a moment to wipe them lean with a handkerchief.

"But what about people? Could it cling to people?" One book in particular seemed to be calling out to Ron like a siren on the shore. He ran his fingers of the seal on the scroll. It was a dusty dark green with and hourglass symbol it.

"Some people are naturally inclined to light or dark, while others stay in the gray. However, given an outside influence, one could be pushed in a new direction."

Ron grabbed the scroll to open it, and the call Ron heard in the back of his mind grew louder. A mist rose off the page and drifted in Ron's nose and eyes, and he became entranced. In a deep and ancient voice that was not his own, Ron began to read aloud.

"_At the sound of the clock, the time has turned. The clock can't stop, it stops for none." "Only death can stop a clock. Destinies have been tampered with, and The Fates are puppeteers. Time is but a string and souls are but amusement. The pendulum chimes, the humans cry."_

Harry and EB ran to Ron. "Ron! Ron!" Harry screamed, but it was no use. Ron was too deeply mesmerized to be stopped. Ron kept chanting. EB stood as close to Ron as he could, trying to read the ancient scroll's words.

"Oh no."

"What is it?"

"This shelf catalogs the various pages of the Book of Untimely Souls, the darkest and taboo magic of the time of Ptolemy I Soter, the founder of the original library. It was separated into different pages prevent it from ever being possessed by one lone individual. It's a history of time travelers and their misfortunes, but it's able to add onto or rewrite itself itself. But the passage he's reading from…it's instructions on how to retrieve your loved ones from their travels."

"Well, isn't that what we want?"

"No! When Ron casted the spell last time, he was fated to do so. But now he's trying to go against fate, which is a disaster waiting to happen. Plus, if I'm right about this incantation, it's literally ripping her, cell by cell, from the time line. If he completes it, and the Fates try to stop him, there will be pieces of her in every part of time, and she'll be unable to move onto the next life."

"We have to stop him!" Harry gripped Ron's shoulders and tried to shake them, but Ron was frozen in place.

"We can't. And even if we could, we would be putting him and Hermione's life even more at risk."

"_And no fate shall rule me, nor god nor demon. I choose my own destiny and my loved one's too. Bring them back to me, by the powers of the old and new. And in return for the service Death has done, I will give myself in return. What's done is done, the bond is sealed." _A harsh white light flashed from the book.

"And now the magick will begin to work." Dark shadows began to slip out of their scrolls and swirl around Ron, spinning faster and faster as more shadows joined in.

"We have to stop it! It's going to hurt Hermione and _kill _Ron! What if we destroy the scroll-"

"We can't!" EB seemed just as desperate and exasperated as Harry. "If anything, from a scroll to a book to a bookmark, is destroyed, the library will retaliate. It will turn against you, and I will be forced to remove you."

"We have to do _something_, please! I don't want to lose them!" Harry sobbed. EB had a few tears roll down his cheeks and he patted Harry and the back.

"You three are called the 'Golden Trio' for a reason; you're about the luckiest group of kids I've ever met." He wiped away a tear that had dribbled down his cheek. "As always, we will let The Fates decide and we will trust them with Hermione and Ron's protection." EB wrapped an arm around Harry and together they watched Ron very slowly beginning to fade.

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Hermione arrived at the astronomy tower at sunset on the dot. Tom emerged from the shadows on the other side.

"What have you decided?" Hermione wanted to punch him the stupid grin off his face but restrained herself.

"Repeat my options please."

"Of course." He smiled with his teeth fully showing, and it sent a shiver through her spin. "Option 1, Draco completes his training and remains as my future right-hand and you are not involved. Option 2, and this would be _my _choice, but don't let my opinion sway you, You replace Draco as right-hand, and he completes a less rigorous training set. Everyone wins in that option."

"You know," she crossed her arms with an air of defiance, "those options are great and all, but…you forgot the third one."

"Oh, you mean where you don't make a decision within the next minute and Draco is brutally hexed for your indecisiveness? Because that one is still on the table."

"If you want me involved with the Knights, then we're doing things my way. I'm making a third option." Tom raised a carefully arched eyebrow, and his eyes glinted with something like admiration.

"I'm listening." He mirrored her position of crossed arms and wide stance.

"Draco will continue training and will be a Knight in your Guard. Someone else will be made your right-hand. I will be a contractor of sorts for the group and aid with the teaching of defensive spells and any non-malevolent planning. The other terms of my contract can be negotiated later."

"Alright." Tom smiled again.

"Alright? You're just going to accept what I said?"

"Yes." Tom shrugged. "I want you in the group, and I would prefer if it were as right-hand, but the fact that you're even willingly joining is a victory."

"But you don't know if you can trust me. You don't know why I'm doing this. For Merlin's sake, you don't even really _know _me!"

"I know that your name is Hermione Granger. I know you are from a futuristic time period-" she gasped in horror. "-oh, don't worry, I'm not telling anyone yet-because of how you talk and the fact that no one can apparate in Hogwarts, which is how you claim to have entered the school. So, obviously, from whatever time you're, you were sent here within the walls of Hogwarts. And I must be in your time period, since you and Draco play hot and cold with me too much."

"I know that you're brilliant and that you're a very passionate and caring person. I know you've got a level head but are ruthless towards your enemies. My personal favorite was when you threw a bat-boogey hex at Fudge and then obliviated him, that was quite hysterical."

"I know that you and I have this weird bond that keeps driving us toward each other like two trains on a track. I know that you are born from…questionable birth and that Draco is pureblood, and that you really hurt you during your time at Hogwarts. But I know that I want you by my side come Hell or High Water. So, yes, I accept your terms." Hermione stood there flabbergasted, not quite sure what to say. She opened and closed her mouth multiple times, but no words came to her. "Shake on it?" She nodded weakly and held out her hand. "A soul for a soul." They shook hands, but when she tried to pull her back, he gripped it tighter. "Besides, I've always liked working with someone I can't entirely trust. It's like a game to see how quickly I can break them." He let go of her hand, now numb, and gave her one last toothy smile before she ran out of the room. _Everyone wins, see?_


	23. Chapter 22: Home

**Parselmatch**

_**Chapter 22: Home **_

The lovely reviewers of the last chapter:

hateme101

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Cococreamandcoffee

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"Are you sure we're not intruding on your family?" Hermione asked again, carrying her suitcase up the stairs crowded with toys and clothing.

"Of course not! We love having people over," Jane insisted, heaving her bag to the top flight the stairs. Hermione could barely hear her over the screaming children below.

"Ow!" Emma cried as one of the children playing tag dashed up the stairs and stepped on her foot.

Jane had invited Emma and Hermione both over to her house for the Easter break, but it was quickly apparent to her friends that the small Diggory home barely had enough room for the immediate family, let alone their extended family and guests. None the less, Mr. and Mrs. Diggory had embraced the girls with open arms and had made room for them in the attic.

"It's a bit of a squeeze, but cozy none the less," Mr. Diggory had commented on the attic they would be staying in for the week.

As Hermione neared the top of the stairs, she felt a wave of dizziness hit her. The world seemed to swirl around her, and her knees grew wobbly.

"Hermione?" She heard. She knew it was Jane calling out to her, but it sounded distant, like the hum of a train from the end of a tunnel. "Hermione!" She heard before everything went black and she collapsed on the flight of stairs.

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_She sees Ron, wrapped in a cloud of green gas and lights. She calls out to him, but he doesn't respond. He at first appeared frozen yet his lips were silently trembling with unheard words. Hermione reaches out to him but she is suddenly being pulled away at a dizzying speed that makes her head spin. As Ron disappears into a green dot, her extended hand and arm begin to disintegrate, flaking off in ashen gray specks. She realizes that her blood is floating away to, sucked away by some ominous force, and she screams. _

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"Hermione?" She blinked her eyes open, finding twenty pairs of eyes blinking back at her.

"What happened?" She rubbed the sore spot in the back of her head.

"You had a fainting spell dear," Mrs. Diggory cooed, patting a warm washcloth to her forehead.

"Not to worry though, you're in good hands here," Mr. Diggory commented, "Mrs. Diggory is the finest nurse in Europe." The children, now bored with the awoken patient, returned to their game and ran back downstairs. "Ah-ah-ah, Amos!" Mr. Diggory clucked at the smallest child trying to leave the attic. "It's time for your nap." Amos, _how old could he be?,_ pouted and crossed his arms. But Mr. Diggory swooped in and began tickling his song, causing the pouty face to disappear. "I'll leave you all be. Hermione, if you have the strength, do join us for dinner later today." And with that, the two male Diggorys left the attic.

"My littlest one, Amos," Mrs. Diggory explained. "He's a sweet thing but he has the temperament of a bear when he's cranky." Hermione was trying her hardest to keep her eyes open, but consciousness seemed to be evading her. "Go back to sleep, love." The young woman was more than happy to take her advice.

She woke up a few hours later and with Emma and Janey's help, made her way downstairs. All 20 plus people in the house were squeezed around a circular dinner table in the kitchen. Elbows and knees were crushed together and invading others' body space. _This is more chaotic than eating at the Burrow_, Hermione thought to herself.

"Everybody – Everybody!" Mr. Diggory clanked his wand against his glass. The room quieted and all eyes turned towards the burly man. "I'd like to make a toast. Here's to family, friendship," he sent a wink at the three teenage girls, "and to love." Mrs. Diggory squeezed his free hand and they shared a secret smile. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" The crowd responded, sipping from their various glasses and mugs.

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"Are you positive you don't want to come, Emma?" Jane asked as she put the last hairpin in place.

"Positive. I've already made plans to go out with Emmet." Jane sent her a concerned look, but Emma reassured her friend, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine! Go have fun with the _ever proper_ Averys," she joked.

All three girls had been invited to the Avery manor for dinner by Jonathan, but Emma opted not to go. "I'd rather not be persecuted for my 'lack of blood purity' during dinner," she had confided in Hermione earlier that day.

Jane and Hermione waved goodbye as Emma apparated to Emmet's house before their walk to the Avery Manor.

The Averys and the Diggorys were next door neighbors, living less than a mile apart. Luckily, they lived in a magically protected community, so they didn't have to face the destruction brought to Europe from the World War II.

The girls walked in silence through the countryside, each absorbed in their own thoughts. As the Manor became visible under a grove of trees, Hermione noticed that Janey was practically skipping. Jonathan greeted them at the door, and he shared Janey's excitement.

The late lunch was awkward for all parties. Mr. and Mrs. Avery, unlike their sons, were not sociable people, and decided to hide up stairs rather than socialize. In addition to that, Hermione was seated between Draco and Tom. And while Draco got along famously Glenn, it was apparent that his relationship with Tom was now strained.

"We have an announcement to make," Jonathan declared, holding Jane's hand. All eyes were on them now. "Jane and I are now engaged!" The room erupted in applause and whoops of cheer.

"Now we'll have two young Mrs. Averys!" Glenn joked. His words seemed cheery enough, but the glances he sent Jonathan spoke of a deeper lying jealousy. After lunch, Jane and Glenn fiancé's went to Diagon Alley for a dress fitting. Glenn retreaded to the family study to make a "call", and Draco murmured something under his breath before leaving for his guest room upstairs, slamming the door shut.

"What's wrong?" Hermione queried.

"Let's leave before things get any more heated. I'll explain in private," Tom whispered in her ear as he gripped her arm and dragged her away.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Once they were in the heart of the garden, far away from the peering eyes of the house, Tom abruptly stopped, causing Hermione to bump into him.

"What's going on?" Hermione demanded, arms crossed.

"Draco may have made aware of our arrangement and he may be trying to undermine both of our operations."

"Who told him?!"

"It wasn't me."

"Really?" Hermione jabbed a finger into his chest. "I think you're just trying to screw both of us over!" But Tom caught he wrist and held out her arm.

"What happened to your arm?" She looked down and saw a strange gray-blue series of bruises scattered over her arm.

"I fainted yesterday and hit my head, but . . . I don't know where these came from." She pulled her arm away and tucked it behind her.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Hermione and Tom walked in from the gardens only to hear shouting throughout the hallways.

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

As they neared the dining room, the shouts only grew louder. Hermione suddenly felt a sharp pain in her left frontal lobe and reached out to the nearby table to support herself. Tom immediately wrapped both his hands around her shoulders, holding her steady.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm . . ." she took a deep breath and thought for a moment, "I'm not alright as in alright, but I'm alright as in you don't need to worry." She tried to shake him off, but he kept holding on.

"Your nose is bleeding," he murmured, pulling a handkerchief from his vest pocket and dabbing her nose gingerly.

"Thank you," she mumbled, as her fingers grazed the dark scarlet blood slowly dripping down her face. "I think I'm just going to head back now – maybe get some rest."

"Will you be able to apparate back?" She nodded her head. "Good. Go home and get some sleep." He handed her the handerchief but kept a firm hand on her shoulder.

"I don't have a home anymore, Tom." She couldn't read his facial expression (he was always so stoic and stone-faced) but he squeezed her shoulder before stepping back. She apparated back to the Diggory attic and collapsed into her bed without a second thought, dreaming strange and cold sleep.

Tom ran his other hand over his palm, caressing the spot where it had touched her. His skin felt as if it were burning, and his palms were tingling with sweat. He was stirred from his thoughts by another frantic shout, and he slinked away towards the door to hear a little bit better.

"Jonathan, please just listen to your mother."

"She's a lovely girl. She's a pureblood. But she is a squib, and she will not be able to have magical children!"

"How do you know?" Jonathan refuted.

"It's been studied by the Ministry for years. There's a reason Wizards have used squibs as mistresses for years-they cannot bear children!" She argued back.

"But what about the money?"

"Give it to Glenn, I don't care about that! I love her more than anything in the world, and I would live like a penniless muggle if it means making her happy."

"This is just a phase, Johnny. There are other girls out there who are just as pretty and pureblooded. We've already arranged for you to meet with the Skeeters so you may meet their daughter Morgana." His father reassured him. "The muggles have this curious phrase; it's something like 'there are other fleas in the sea'"

"It's fish dear." His wife sighed.

"Yes! There are other fish in the sea, Jonathan. You just have to look."

"Neither of you understands! Why would I settle for a fish? She is my sea!"

"There are seven oceans on this planet," his mother reminded him as she took a sip of her wine.

"How could you be so cruel?"

"How could you not understand the gravity of the situation?" His father asked him.

"Glenn is the first born! I should only receive a minimal amount of the fortune."

"He isn't the heir though," Mr. Avery said in a hushed tone.

Jonathan was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

Mr. Avery rubbed his temples as he explained, "Every generation, the true Avery heir must be born under the yellow moon with a crescent scar behind their ear."

"Doesn't Glenn have a mark?"

"No . . . but you do." He glanced up at his son with a look of pity.

"That scar is from my first broom when I was three."

"You've always had the scar; we just removed the concealment charm at that moment and used it as an excuse." His mother sighed as she set her empty glass on the table.

"What do you mean?"

"We falsified the documents. I always thought the Avery curse was just a ridiculous myth, but…"

"Myth? Mom, what are you talking about?"

His father twirled the end of his mustache before speaking. "A very long time ago, around the early 400s, a Norwegian Viking's wife was stranded in the English cliff side after her husband's ship capsized. Only she and her daughter survived. As her infant daughter grew up, the mother became a destitute beggar living off the scarps of strangers to provide for her child. The girl had a kind heart but a terrifying complexion. She scratched her face so often that it became indented by the crescent marks of her fingernails, and her eyes an odd shade of yellow. She was covered in hair and spooked all the villagers."

"But what does this have to do with us?" Jonathan interrupted.

"Let me finish. One night, she and her daughter were stranded in the woods. She had heard word from a merchant in town that there was a castle hidden in the woods, and that there she would find a wise man who may aid her. That man was our ancestor, Lord Avery."

Mr. Avery stretched his arms and repositioned himself closer to the fire place before continuing. "Upon reaching this mysterious castle, she was welcomed with warm food and a bed. To thank the wise man, she offered to let him marry her daughter, promising that it would be a good marriage and he would be forever lucky. He declined. She insisted, but he refused. She then made the mistake of asking why. An honest man, often to a fault, he stated 'because she looks like a flea-bitten dog.' The daughter, uncontrollably upset, ran to the nearby lake and wept by the edge of the water. The merchildren heard her cries, swam up to the surface, and dragged her below the surface to play. They didn't understand that she wasn't like them, and she drowned shortly after reaching the bottom of the lake." His father let out a sigh and continued twirling his mustache. Mrs. Avery glanced over at her distracted husband with disappointment. Reluctantly, she finished the story.

"The mother was actually a witch. When she found her daughter dead, she swore her revenge upon all the Avery men. Since he believed the daughter was a dog, a dog he would become. Only those born with a crescent scar behind their ears would not suffer from the curse. They had to be born during the yellow full-moon."

"Of course, the chosen male heir is the one who carries the trait for the lycanthropy. I was third son born in my family, yet I was the only son who lived past his first birthday. My parents were forced to drown the other two boys. That's why I have this scar behind my ear. I was the heir." Mr. Avery pulled back his graying hair to show the mark.

"Glenn has the mark behind his ear."

Mrs. Avery squinted her eyes and rubbed her temples in frustration before huffing, "Magic, darling. It's a fake. "

"And if the unmarked child inherited the fortune after their twenty-first birthday, the fate of the family would crumple." His father added.

"The fortune, the success, the social status? Gone. We would lose everything." His mother was on the cusp of showing some emotion other than anger, and Jonathan cringed at the thought of the false tears his mother would shed. She was not a compassionate or caring woman, and sorrow did not suit her well.

"Not to mention Glenn. As the curse takes effect, he would forget everything: name, family, memories. He'd become an entirely new person, changed by the cycles of the moon within a number of years. He would become what the Norwegians call Fenrir. A son of Loki, he was terrifying and giant wolf who was foretold to kill Odin, the king of their gods."

"Did you ever consider…" Jonathan didn't know how to put it. How does one ask if their parents considered drowning one of their children?

"I wanted to, yes, but your mother prevented me."

"I couldn't lose him, not after all the trouble we went through to even have him."

Jonathan pondered for a moment before asking the most substantial question of the evening. "Does he know about any of this?"

"Not a word." The three of them were startled when they heard something creak behind the door. They were relieved when they saw it was just a house-elf, but they were still apprehensive.

But they had every reason to be terrified for their secrets. Within the study, there was a small trap door that led out to the gardens, and this had been Glenn's favorite hiding spot as a child. His family could never find him during hide-and-seek, and this proved true again tonight. Although it was a tight squeeze, he had burrowed into his niche. His face was wet with tears, but he ignored them all. He was too angry.

"You said earlier that Jane is barren, correct?" His parents nodded. "Well, couldn't I just marry her and then adopt a child?" They looked at each other in horror. For a magical family, let alone a pureblood family, to adopt a child was unheard of. But Jonathan didn't care, and rushed on. "We could make the excuse that we couldn't conceive, thus preventing the lycanthropy from continuing. Meanwhile, I go on to work at St. Mungo's in order to find a cure for Glenn, and everything will work out!"

But Glenn did not hear his younger brother's eagerness to help him. He wasn't even on the other side of the wall. The young man had sprinted into the woods behind his house to the old tree where he used to hide his cigarettes. They were tucked into a notch in the tree, but Glenn couldn't reach it; his hands were shaking too much. Glenn let out a scream, slamming his fists against the tree. Again and again, his hands pounded the tree, even after his hands were bleeding and he could no longer feel anything in his hands. The young man eventually sank to the floor, consumed with his grief.

Glenn was still lying on the forest floor when a lone figure approached the tree, swiftly grabbed the box of cigarettes, and kneeling down beside him. The person tapped out one cigarette and tucked it into the corner of their mouth before tapping out another one and offering it to Glenn. Glenn wiped any remaining tears from his face before taking it with a trembling hand. The figure unearthed a lighter from their pocket, popped it open, and cupped the glowing light. The dark eyes of Tom Riddle were glimmering as they watched him inhale the smoke.

Glenn remembered how different Tom used to be. The younger boy would never admit it, but he had stuck out like a sore thumb his first semester. Tom had been too amazed by magic and too eager to participate in class. That's why he had latched onto the older kids as soon as he could. Tom needed them to transform him like Cinderella on the way to the ball. And the older kids loved it-dressing him, teaching him, putting words in his mouth; he had practically been their little Half-Blood lapdog. Tom had done the occasional homework assignment or chore for them, but the little boy began to expect favors in return. Glenn honestly admired the younger boy for being able to work his way up the totem pole to become the ideal Slytherin. Rumor had it that Tom was a shoe-in for Head Boy next semester. What Glenn had no inkling of was that Tom's classmates had been under the Heir's thumb since the first train ride to Hogwarts.

Tom lit his own cigarette and let out a delicate ring of smoke like a natural. He let them sit in silence for a few moments before talking. "Let's take a walk, shall we?" It wasn't a question, but a command, and it sort of stunned Glenn. The elder man limply nodded his head and Tom pulled him off of the forest floor. Tom guided Glenn as they walked into the woods, their cigarettes their only light. Glenn could feel Tom's cold hands wrapped tightly around his elbow, but he forgot all about that when Tom coolly stated "I have a proposition for you…"

**Author's Note:**

**I'm so sorry that I haven't posted all summer – college touring/applications are time consuming. But I finished all my apps (for now), so I'll have time to post.**

**I've been working on this chapter for almost a year now (the scenes here are launching pivotal plot points), so I hoped the intensity makes up for the long absence. Please let me know if you liked it! And what you think Tom is proposing… **

**Thanks!**


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